Professor Lu Chongmao, Director of the Medical and Health Bureau (MHB), held the 9th meeting of the High Level Steering Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance today (July 11) to review the implementation of the "Hong Kong Strategy and Action Plan for Responding to Antimicrobial Resistance (2023-2027)" and discuss the response strategies with relevant government departments and institutions. Professor Lu Chongmao said, "Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most significant threats facing global healthcare and economies, and governments have always attached great importance to the necessity of addressing it. As cross sector collaboration and communication in society are crucial to reducing this threat, the government has been promoting relevant government departments and institutions to coordinate and cooperate across sectors within the framework of 'integrated health', and has implemented work in various areas under the Action Plan in the past few years." According to the measures listed in the Action Plan, a series of actions against antimicrobial resistance have been implemented, including considering revising relevant regulations to require electronic recording of antibiotic prescriptions and dispensing information, using information technology to strengthen antibiotic orientation plans in public hospitals Strengthen monitoring and release data on antibiotic resistance in ready to eat food, implement a policy of "only supplying veterinary prescription drugs" in local food animal farms, hold promotional activities to raise public awareness of the threat of antibiotic resistance, and strengthen partnerships and cooperation among different stakeholders. At today's meeting, the supervisory committee reviewed the progress of various tasks under the Action Plan and evaluated the latest situation of antibiotic resistance in Hong Kong by analyzing relevant monitoring data in various areas, including human, animal, and food. Data shows that the wholesale supply of antibiotics in community pharmacies has continued to decline from 18.5% in 2016 to 4.1% last year. In addition, antibiotics classified as "widely available" by the World Health Organization (WHO) (i.e. antibiotics with less chance of causing resistance) accounted for 60.2% of the overall local antibiotic supply last year, meeting the WHO recommended target level. The Hospital Authority (HA) has been actively promoting the cautious use of antibiotics through the antibiotic oriented program, which plays an important role in combating antibiotic resistance. The Hospital Authority has launched an electronic platform called "Smart ASP" this year, which uses data analysis to evaluate the appropriateness of antibiotic prescriptions. The platform also sends prompts to clinical doctors to review prescriptions when needed. In addition, the Hospital Authority closely monitors the trend of antibiotic use and changes in antibiotic resistance. It is worth noting that compared with 2022, resistant Staphylococcus aureus and carbapenem resistant Acinetobacter baumannii showed significant reductions of 3.0 percentage points and 8.9 percentage points, respectively, in 2023. The Hospital Authority will continue to strengthen infection control measures and conduct routine audits to ensure patient safety and combat antibiotic resistance. In terms of food safety, the Centre for Food Safety (CFS) of the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department reminds the food industry and the public that raw or undercooked food is a high-risk food and may contain antibiotic resistant bacteria. High risk individuals, such as pregnant women, young children, the elderly, and those with lower immunity (such as chronic disease patients), should try to avoid eating raw or undercooked food as much as possible. The Food Safety Center emphasizes that the most effective way to reduce antibiotic resistant bacteria in food is to follow the "Five Points of Food Safety" in daily life, including choosing safe raw materials, keeping hands and utensils clean, separating raw and cooked food, thoroughly cooking food, and storing food at a safe temperature. The government calls on all sectors to continue close cooperation and jointly address the challenges brought by antibiotic resistance. Medical professionals should follow the guidelines and use antibiotics with caution, while patients should always follow the doctor's instructions to take antibiotics, and should not purchase antibiotics from community pharmacies without a prescription. Citizens can refer to the special webpage of the Centre for Health Protection of the Department of Health for information on antibiotic resistance. The Supervisory Committee, chaired by the Director of the Medical and Health Bureau, was established in May 2016 with the aim of encouraging various professional sectors to work together and exchange ideas within the framework of "integrated health" to jointly address the issue of antibiotic resistance. The committee members come from relevant government departments, public and private hospitals, medical and nursing organizations, academia, and relevant professional groups. (New Society)