The European Commission said on Thursday that national governments must reduce the overuse of antibiotics, and announced a bloc-wide ban on antibiotics as animal fatteners, Deutsche Presse Agentur (DPA) reported. Measures to prevent the overuse and abuse of antibiotics will include better infection control, less self-medication of the drugs, as well as more information on the proper use of antibiotics, according to a report unveiled by the Commission. Efforts to prevent the emergence of so-called super bugs - resistant to medical treatments - also have to be stepped up, the Commission said. The Commission warned that the overuse and misuse of antibiotics was promoting the development of bacteria immune to drugs which are normally used to fight them. Medicals treatments then become less effective, while super bugs in hospitals cause unnecessary deaths, the Commission underlined. In a parallel move also designed to protect human health, the Commission said antibiotics as growth promoters in animal feed will be banned across the European Union from January 1. --More 21 38 Local Time 18 38 GMT
