The percentage of bacteria in the Netherlands that are insensitive to antibiotics was about the same in 2023 as in previous years. These findings are from research on antimicrobial resistance. Highly resistant bacteria are being found more and more often, however. A focus on antimicrobial resistance and proper use of antibiotics is therefore still necessary.
Certain strains of bacteria known as ‘exceptionally resistant bacteria’ are insensitive to various antibiotics. These bacteria are not even susceptible to antimicrobials that are used when other antibiotics do not work. These exceptionally resistant bacteria are regularly found in people who have been admitted to hospital in other countries. Infections caused by these bacteria are difficult to treat.
Antibiotic usage in humans
General practitioners (GPs) prescribed antibiotics about as often in 2023 as in 2019, the year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Fewer antibiotic prescriptions were issued by GPs in the Netherlands between 2020 and 2022. In 2023, antibiotics were used slightly more often in Dutch hospitals than in the years before the COVID-19 pandemic. Hospitals and nursing homes also reported more outbreaks of infections caused by resistant bacteria in 2023 than in 2022 – although still fewer than in the years before the pandemic. Compared to other European countries, antibiotic resistance in humans is still relatively low in the Netherlands.
Measures against antibiotic resistance in humans
Hand-washing and other hygiene measures prevent infections and reduce the spread of resistant bacteria. It is also important that antibiotics are used properly, and only when absolutely necessary. This is because antimicrobial resistance is caused by unnecessary and incorrect use of antibiotics.
Antibiotic usage in animals
The measures currently in place in the Netherlands to combat antibiotic resistance extend beyond the field of human healthcare. Resistant bacteria are also found in animals, in food and in the environment. Compliance with strict rules has led to a significant decrease in the use of antibiotics in the Dutch livestock sector since 2009. That sharp decline is now levelling off. Similarly, the downward trend in antibiotic resistance among animals has not continued.
Some antibiotics are very important for treating infections in humans. Accordingly, farm animals receive them only in very exceptional circumstances. As a result, resistance to antibiotics that are important to humans is relatively rare among animals.
NethMap/MARAN annual report
The results on antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals are outlined in the 2024 NethMap/MARAN report. In this annual report, various organisations jointly present data on antibiotic use and antimicrobial resistance in the Netherlands.