The Centers for Disease Control and Protection have developed a federal initiative aimed at reducing the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. The Detect and Protect Against Antibiotic Resistance Initiative requests $30 million in annual funding for the next five years to successfully implement a strategy to cut antibiotic resistance and healthcare-associated infections.
The AR Initiative plans to target four core areas: detecting and tracking antibiotic resistance, responding to outbreaks involving antibiotic-resistant bacteria, preventing infections from occurring and spreading and discovering new antibiotics and diagnostic tests for resistant bacteria.
Additionally, the AR Initiative proposes the $30 million annual funding level over five years could reduce healthcare-associated Clostridium difficile and healthcare-associated carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae by 50 percent, multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas and invasive methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus by 30 percent and MDR Salmonella infections by 25 percent.
The AR Initiative outlines two key branches for combating antibiotic resistance. First, it plans to improve detection through a lab network by quickening identification of resistant threats and accelerating development of new diagnostics and antibiotics to keep up with rapidly mutating bacteria. The AR Initiative also proposes a Resistant-Bacteria Bank which would hold a centralized collection of resistant bacteria samples that would be made available to pharmaceutical companies, biotech and diagnostic companies and researchers for research purposes.
Secondly, the AR Initiative proposes closer collaboration with healthcare facilities to implement best practices and improve antimicrobial stewardship to help reduce antibiotic resistance.
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