CDC’s most recent Vital Signs report highlights the importance of rapid identification of new or rare resistance. This is the critical first step in CDC’s Containment Strategy to stop the spread of antibiotic resistance (AR). Once AR spreads, it is harder to control. Finding and responding to unusual resistance early, before it becomes common, can help stop its spread and protect people.
Germs with unusual resistance include those that cannot be killed by all or most antibiotics, and are uncommon in a geographic area or the U.S., or have specific genes that allow them to spread their resistance to other germs.
Health departments working with CDC’s AR Lab Network found more than 220 instances of germs with unusual AR genes in the U.S. last year, according to the CDC Vital Signs report.
To stop spread of threats like these, the CDC Containment Strategy calls for:
- rapid identification of unusual resistance,
- infection control assessments,
- testing (screening) patients without symptoms who may carry and spread the germ,
- a coordinated response with other healthcare facilities, and
- continued infection control assessments and screenings until spread is stopped.
Health departments using the approach have conducted infection control assessments and colonization screenings within 48 hours of finding unusual resistance, and have reported no further transmission during follow-up over several weeks.
New data suggest that the Containment Strategy can prevent thousands of difficult-to-treat or potentially untreatable infections, such as those caused by high-priority threats such as carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).
The strategy complements other CDC efforts, including improving antibiotic use and preventing new infections, and builds on existing detection and response infrastructure.
Visit CDC for more information: https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2018/p0403-antibiotic-resistant-germs.html
