A major all-Ukrainian training seminar on the acute problem of antimicrobial resistance took place in Ukraine today. The event was organised by the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection in cooperation with the State Scientific-Research Control Institute of Veterinary Medicinal Products and Feed Additives and chaired by Oleg Osiyan, First Deputy Head of the State Service of Ukraine for Food Safety and Consumer Protection.

Ihor Lotskin, Director of the Department of Food Safety and Veterinary Medicine, and Volodymyr Stibel, Director of the State Scientific-Research Control Institute of Veterinary Medicinal Products and Feed Additives, welcomed the participants.

The seminar participants – leading experts in the fields of bacteriology, microbiology and veterinary medicine – discussed current aspects of the global antimicrobial resistance crisis. Representatives from leading scientific institutions and international organisations shared their experiences in tackling this problem. In particular, Marta Konieciewicz-Jarzab, Director of the Feed, Medicines and Utilisation Department of the General Inspectorate of Veterinary Medicine (GIW, Warsaw, Poland), spoke in detail about the planning and monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in Poland. Prof. Dariusz Wasil, representative of the National Veterinary Institute (PIWet, Pulawy, Poland), presented modern methodological approaches to such monitoring.

Representatives of the World Health Organisation (WHO) highlighted the current aspects of the global crisis of antimicrobial resistance. Roman Gursky, Head of the Main Department in Ivano-Frankivsk Oblast, spoke about the regional programme to control antimicrobial resistance. Interesting reports were given by Tatiana Garkavenko, Irina Musiyets and Olga Gorbatyuk.

Yuriy Kosenko stressed the importance of controlling the circulation of antimicrobial agents and the susceptibility of micro-organisms to them as two components of an effective response to antimicrobial resistance. Viktor Muzyka informed the participants about national and international regulations on antimicrobial resistance surveillance.

Tomorrow, at the State Scientific-Research Control Institute of Veterinary Medicinal Products and Feed Additives, participants will be able to put their theoretical knowledge into practice. Leading industry experts will give masterclasses on the methodology for determining the antimicrobial susceptibility of microorganisms.