The first action plan for the nation of the USA was published in 2015. These plans and strategies were updated in 2020. It notes that increases in both appropriate and inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing patterns which changed with the care of patients with novel Corona Virus Disease of 2019 (COVID-19) possess the potential to accelerate resistance emergence.
The National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria – Five Goals
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1. Slow the Emergence of Resistant Bacteria and Prevent the Spread of Resistant Infections.
Objectives in this area include:
- Expanding national, regional and State bandwidth for the detection, containment, and prevention of resistant infections.
- Engage stakeholders in the development of expanded training and communication campaigns highlighting responsible therapeutic use, as well as mitigating the spread of resistance and infection prevention.
- Build and rollout policies and best practices which promote responsible antimicrobial use, in various settings (including outpatient spaces) and for major conditions or syndromes.
- Across One Health, support and promote execution of evidence-based interventions to prevent infection and stop the spread of resistance.
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2. Strengthen National One-Health Surveillance Efforts to Combat Resistance.
Objectives for this goal in this area include:
- Increase capacity and capabilities in testing and training as well as integration to expand the reach of Federal resistance lab networks.
- Expansion of access to specimens and repositories for research and innovation.
- Make more robust the infrastructure in place for resistance surveillance, including characterizing the “resistome.”
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3. Advance Development and Use of Rapid and Innovative Diagnostic Tests for Identification and Characterization of Resistant Bacteria.
Objectives in this area include:
- Development and validation of novel diagnostics.
- Support of research to determine utility and appropriateness of diagnostics.
- Accelerate the adoption of appropriate diagnostics.
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4. Accelerate Basic and Applied Research and Development for New Antibiotics, Other Therapeutics, and Vaccines.
Objectives in this area include:
- Expansion of both basic and interdisciplinary research to increase understanding of emergence, dissemination, and persistence of resistance, with concomitant mitigation strategies in the care of plants, animals and humans.
- Increase research endeavours to discover and develop novel therapeutics, including antimicrobials, as well as piloting and proliferating optimized treatment strategies.
- Further research activities pursuing novel preventative agents or clinical strategies, including vaccination against pathogens which are known to harbour resistance.
- Enhance sustainability of the commercial space where novel antimicrobials are brought to market.
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5. Improve International Collaboration and Capacities for Antibiotic Resistance Prevention, Surveillance, Control, and Antibiotic Research and Development.
Objectives in this area include:
- Elevate American leadership in mitigating resistance globally.
- Increase awareness and capacity of other countries around the world to better target the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance.
- Generate a network where reliable actionable data can be shared to best address the effects of antimicrobial resistance.
- Advance international collaborations to best understand resistance and test countermeasures.
