SURVEILLANCE FOR THE EMERGENCE AND DISSEMINATION OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE IN BACTERIA

Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among clinically relevant bac teria provides important data that can be used to modify recommendatio ns regarding empiric therapy for many infectious diseases. In the labo ratory, suweillance must involve careful review of the susceptibility results generated not only to validate the data as required for optima l patient care but to detect the presence of novel and emerging resist ance patterns. The data from the laboratory must be accurate because i t serves as the basis for surveillance of resistance at the local, sta te, national, and international levels. There are a number of surveill ance systems conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Preventi on, state health departments, academic centers, and the pharmaceutical industry that gather data on resistant organisms in the United States and around the world.