Summary:
Access to safe food is part of Icelanders' privileges. Rapidly growing antibiotic resistance, which is linked to, among other things, factory farming and the high use of antibiotics in agriculture, is one of the main threats to human public health. Growing trade in food between countries and continents facilitates the spread of germs and antibiotic resistance around the world. Icelandic agriculture and agricultural products have a special position due to the country's isolation and small size.
After extensive measures to reduce the spread Campylobacter and Salmonella in poultry farms, the prevalence of Campylobacter infections is about 17-43 / 100,000 inhabitants, half of them of domestic origin, and Salmonella infections 10-15 / 100,000, most of which are transmitted abroad. Enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) has not been found in Icelandic cattle and a low incidence (usually 0-0.6 / 100,000) is therefore not surprising. A recent group infection caused by a multidrug-resistant EHEC strain was attributed to imported contaminated lettuce. The use of antibiotics in Icelandic agriculture is one of the lowest known in Europe and it is rare for domestic infections to be caused by Salmonella and Campylobacter is caused by antibiotic-resistant strains. Carbapenemase-forming Enterobacteriaceae have not yet been found in Iceland.
Low use of antibiotics in Icelandic agriculture combined with austerity measures to reduce spread Campylobacter and Salmonella have been very successful. The general public needs to be aware of the importance of food origins and that Icelandic agricultural products still have a special position in terms of the risk of infection.