Trend New trade partners raising risk of imported resistant foodborne strains

Summary

In its short-term outlook for foodborne disease, the report points to the risk of resistant strains arriving through new trading relationships. Antimicrobial use in UK livestock is falling while global use keeps rising. The report therefore judges that trade deals with new partners could increase the chance of importing foodborne strains that are resistant to antimicrobials. It explains that some foodborne microbes are already resistant, which makes the resulting illness harder to treat. It also observes that more foodborne disease would require more antimicrobial treatment, raising the risk of resistant microbes, and so treats the two risks as connected.