CDC Maps Every State’s Fight Against AR

Antibiotic resistance (AR) investments are working, but there’s more work to be done to combat AR, according to a recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) report. The CDC made investments in 50 states, six large cities and Puerto Rico in fiscal year 2016 to enhance laboratory and epidemiology expertise and increase public health innovations to fight AR across health care, food and communities.

Illustrating more than 170 state-reported successes in their fight against AR, The AR Investment Map provides a comprehensive view of CDC’s resources to protect the American public from AR infections, displaying antibiotic-resistance activities in state-and-city-specific fact sheets. Each state reported multiple successes.

The CDC reports 38 states and two cities currently use whole genome sequencing to monitor for outbreaks and identify AR for Listeria, Salmonella, Campylobacter, and E. coli. Local CDC-supported epidemiologists investigate the cases to stop the outbreaks and spread of resistance when these outbreaks are detected.

Since 2016, CDC has provided $144 million to 56 state and local health departments and Puerto Rico; invested more than $76 million in more than 60 universities and health care partners to find and implement innovative strategies to prevent resistant infections and contain their spread.

The CDC continues to partner with health departments; academia, and health care industries to address this issue. Visit cdc.gov/DrugResistance for more information.

From Decisions in Dentistry. June 2018;4(6).