June 2014 

The increase in antibiotic resistant bacteria poses a major
healthcare threat. In the face of an almost complete absence of
new antimicrobial drugs in development, antibiotic resistance
(ABR) has become one of the main public health problems of our
time. Antibiotics are a unique class of medications because of their
potential societal impact; use of an antibiotic in a single patient can
select for ABR that can spread to other people, animals, and the
environment, making an antibacterial used in one patient
ineffective for many others. Bacterial resistance can evolve rapidly.
As bacteria acquire resistance mechanisms, the altered bacterial
genetic material coding for resistance mechanisms can be
transmitted at times readily between bacteria, broadening the
reach and extent of resistance. Treatment failures because of
multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria, once rare, notable, and limited
to hospitals, now occur very commonly in hospitals and
increasingly in the community as well. It is estimated that at a
minimum 25000 patients in Europe and 23000 in the USA die each
year from infections caused by resistant bacteria. The cost of
antibiotic resistance is tremendous, whether measured as the
personal and societal burden of illness, death rates, or healthcare
costs.
Although it is a never-ended phenomenon, antibiotic resistance is
directly related to the volume of antibiotics used. We are using
increasing amounts of antibiotics in health care and agriculture,
and discharging these active drugs into the environment. The
impact of widespread antibiotic use is enormous, promoting the
development and dissemination of antimicrobial resistance.
Safeguarding antibiotics will require a concerted effort by citizens,
patients and prescribers. The primary goal of WAAAR is to raise
awareness about the urgency and magnitude of the threat and to
promote an international dialogue to assist in effective responses.
The Alliance, in particular through this declaration, is dedicated to
actively promoting antibiotic preservation and to raising awareness
among antibiotic prescribers, politicians and policy-makers, patient
safety and advocacy groups, the pharmaceutical industry,
international health organizations, and the general population.
Individual actions, no matter how well intended, are doomed to
failure unless there is an international dialogue, a common sense of
purpose, and broad consensus on how best to proceed.

World Alliance Against Antibiotic Resistance
Alliance Contre le développement des Bactéries Multi-Résistantes
The WAAAR declaration against antibiotic resistance
Jean Carlet, on behalf of the members of the WAAAR
June 2014 jeancarlet@gmail.com

We must change how antibiotics
are used and adopt proactive
strategies, similar to those used
to save endangered species.
Preservation of the efficacy of
antibiotics and to stabilization of
antibiotic-susceptible bacterial
ecosystems should be global
goals. 

We urge all of you to participate in
this crusade, in your own field of
interest. The medical miracle of
antibiotic therapy must be
protected – this is a global priority
and our duty. Please, help us to act
NOW, by supporting this
declaration, to promote wiser use
of antibiotics in animal and human
health, and the necessary
accompanying political actions to
support better education,
integrated surveillance for public
health action, and research.

Read PDF @   WAAAR_Decl_20140623.pdf