New Interactive Map & Data Tool From CDC: Antibiotic Resistance in Humans For Bacteria Transmitted Commonly Through Food

From the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention:

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.
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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.

Direct to NARMS Now: Human Data
Dataset

The FDA, on behalf of all the NARMS partner agencies, is also making data available online—NARMS Now: Integrated Data. 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.

Additional Materials

• Infographic: Antibiotic Resistance from the Farm to the Table (via CDC)

• NARMS Now: Human Data Navigation Guide

• Learn More About the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS)

• FAQ About Antimicrobial Resistance and Food Safety

Coverage

• New CDC Online Tool Tracks Superbugs (via Discovery.com)

• This Technology Tracks Antibiotic Resistance In Food (via Time.com)

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