Better control of antibiotic resistance

This text summarizes the conclusions of the French Working Party to Promote Research to Control Bacterial Resistance, initiated by the French Institut e for Public Health Surveillance. The goal was to identify and prioritize t he research areas most pertinent to the evolution of antibiotic resistance. The working group was part of a nationwide consultation of experts in the field of bacterial resistance and was coordinated with 2 other groups addre ssing (1) the use and surveillance of resistance to antibiotics and (2) the control and prevention of resistance to antibiotics. The proposals were di scussed at a meeting held on 13 January 1999 by a large group of French mic robiologists and clinicians who specialize in infectious diseases. The expe rt panel stressed that the determinants of evolution of antimicrobial resis tance and the possibility of reversing this evolution are not completely kn own or understood. It emphasized the need for efforts to anticipate emergen ce of new resistances, to analyze the consequences of bacterial resistance, to develop rapid tests for determination of susceptibility to antibiotics, and to develop new antibiotics.