The One Health Action Plan against Antimicrobial Resistance

Dear Colleagues,

Antibiotic resistance is recognized as a major public health problem in Europe and worldwide. Because antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and resistance genes circulate within and between ecosystems, prevention and control of antibiotic resistance requires integrated actions at the human–animal–environment interface. In 2015, the WHO Member States unanimously endorsed a Global Plan of Action to address antimicrobial resistance, and the WHO called on all countries to take concerted action across all sectors of human activity, with a One Health approach, bringing together stakeholders from relevant sectors to communicate and work together in the design, implementation, and monitoring of programs, policies, legislation, and research to mitigate AMR and achieve better health and economic outcomes.

The actions envisaged in the European One Health action plan include incentives to consider the environment as a factor that can contribute to the spread of AMR and guidance aimed at filling knowledge gaps on antimicrobial resistance in the environment.

Furthermore, evidence suggests that changes occurring in the natural environment due to the climate crisis are increasing the spread of infectious disease.

An increase in extreme weather events and natural disasters such as storms, heatwaves, hurricanes, typhoons, floods, and forest fires can cause population displacement, which can facilitate the spread of drug-resistant infections and disease. In addition, increased prevalence of disease could result in an increase in the improper use of antimicrobial drugs, which could further exacerbate antimicrobial resistance.

By uniting findings from a variety of fields, including human and veterinary medicine, ecology, and others, it is possible to gain an overview of how antibiotic resistance develops and spreads, thus bringing together knowledge from different areas to attempt to control it.

This Special Issue seeks research papers on various aspects related to the spread of antibiotic-resistant microorganisms and resistance genes in a healthcare setting, the veterinary field, and the environment; food contamination; surveillance, prevention, and control of infections; appropriate use and surveillance of antibiotic consumption use in human and veterinary settings; and climate change and antibiotic resistance.

We encourage the submission of interdisciplinary work and multi-country collaborative research. We welcome original research papers using different study designs as well as literature reviews, systematic reviews, and meta-analyses.

Prof. Dr. Anna Maria Spagnolo
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

• one health approach
• antimicrobial resistance
• healthcare-associated infections
• food contamination
• environment and antibiotic resistance
• surveillance
• prevention and control