Abstract
An important cornerstone in the control of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a well-designed quantitative system for the surveillance of spread and temporal trends in AMR. Since 2008, the Dutch national AMR surveillance system, based on routine data from medical microbiological laboratories (MMLs), has developed into a successful tool to support the control of AMR in the Netherlands. It provides background information for policy making in public health and healthcare services, supports development of empirical antibiotic therapy guidelines and facilitates in-depth research. In addition, participation of the MMLs in the national AMR surveillance network has contributed to sharing of knowledge and quality improvement. A future improvement will be the implementation of a new semantic standard together with standardised data transfer, which will reduce errors in data handling and enable a more real-time surveillance. Furthermore, the scientific impact and the possibility of detecting outbreaks may be amplified by merging the AMR surveillance database with databases from selected pathogen-based surveillance programmes containing patient data and genotypic typing data.
Highlights
The number of infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to commonly used antimicrobials is increasing worldwide [1]
Resistance proportions and temporal trends are described for a selection of clinically relevant bacterial pathogens in the annual report on consumption of antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance in the Netherlands [22]
A subset of the surveillance data is sent annually to the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARSNet) which is coordinated by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control [23]
Summary
The number of infections caused by bacteria that are resistant to commonly used antimicrobials is increasing worldwide [1]. In 2013, the Chief Medical Officer of the United Kingdom (UK) even used the words “apocalyptic threat” [4] To address this threat, an independent review committee was set up in the UK in 2014 to analyse the global problem and propose concrete actions for an international approach [5], and in 2015, the WHO prepared a global action plan [6]. An independent review committee was set up in the UK in 2014 to analyse the global problem and propose concrete actions for an international approach [5], and in 2015, the WHO prepared a global action plan [6] In both reports, surveillance of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was mentioned as a cornerstone in the control of AMR, but it was stated that in many countries AMR surveillance was not yet in place or under-resourced. Examples of these are the Central Asian and Eastern European Surveillance of AMR (CAESAR) [7] and the Global AMR Surveillance System (GLASS) [8], both developed by the WHO
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