New CDC tool illustrates changes in antibiotic resistance

What

CDC is unveiling an interactive tool that makes it quicker and easier to see how antibiotic resistance for four bacteria transmitted commonly through food—Campylobacter, E. coli O157, Salmonella, and Shigella—has changed during the past 18 years. The tool, called “NARMS (National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System) Now: Human Data,” allows users to access antibiotic resistance data by bacteria, antibiotic, year (1996-2013), and geographic region. The tool displays data on an interactive map or in tables. The tool is designed to provide access to the most up-to-date antibiotic resistance results by uploading data regularly.

When

Journalists are invited to a webinar to learn how to use the new tool on Wednesday, August 19, 12 p.m. ET. Content is embargoed until Wednesday, August 19, 2015 at 12 p.m. ET.

How

Please RSVP to CDC’s press office at (404) 639-3286 or email media@cdc.gov. Limited space available.

Where

NARMS Now: Human Data will be available at www.cdc.gov/narmsnow starting at 12 p.m. ET on Wednesday, August 19, 2015.

Why

CDC estimates that each year in the United States, two million illnesses and 23,000 deaths are caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Antibiotic-resistant infections from germs transmitted commonly through food cause an estimated 440,000 of those illnesses. The NARMS Now: Human Data tool contains human antibiotic resistance data from the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System. This surveillance system tracks antibiotic resistance in foodborne and other bacteria found in the gut through coordinated efforts among the CDC, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and state and local health departments. NARMS monitors antimicrobial resistance among gut bacteria from three sources: humans (CDC), retail meats (FDA) and food animals (USDA).

NARMS Now: Human Data can be used to:

• Examine the geographic distribution of resistance: Researchers have used NARMS data to investigate the geographic distribution of multidrug-resistant Salmonella Typhimurium and Newport infections in the United States.
• Monitor changing trends in resistance: Investigators are using NARMS data to help uncover the reason for increasing antibiotic resistance in a type of Salmonella, I 4,[5],12,:i:- (pronounced I-4-5-12-i-minus), which has emerged recently in the United States.
• Inform regulatory agency action: FDA withdrew approval for Enrofloxacin (a fluoroquinolone) used in poultry after NARMS data showed an increase in fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter infections in humans.

The FDA, on behalf of all the NARMS partner agencies, is also making data available online—NARMS Now: Integrated Data—as of 12 p.m. on Wednesday, Aug. 19. That data helps users to access antibiotic resistance information from isolates from retail meat and animals, and will soon add Campylobacter and non-typhoidal Salmonella from humans.

For more information on CDC NARMS, go to www.cdc.gov/narms.

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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES