Project R-5802

Development and application of statistical methodology for analysis of the phenomenon of multi-drug resistance in the EU: demonstration of analytical approaches using antimicrobial resistance isolate-based data. (Research)

In accordance with Decision 2013/652/EC, harmonisation of monitoring of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animals and food reporting will be further enhanced in the EU and reporting of AMR data at isolate level by MSs to EFSA will become mandatory from calendar year 2015 and onwards (2014 data and onwards). Based on AMR isolate-based data reported on a voluntary basis, the 2012 EU Summary Report on AMR summarises important information on multi-drug resistance (MDR) and already includes 'summary indicators' of MDR and the breakdown of the multi-/co-resistance patterns recorded. The isolate-based dataset allows the following to be reported: source of the sample (animal species, animal populations or food categories), the date of sampling, the country of origin, the bacterial species and subtype of the isolate tested and the susceptibility test results to a harmonised set of antimicrobial substances. MDR is considered to be a major public health issue. It is important that EFSA can provide an evidence-based evaluation of the role of food production in the emergence and spread of multiple drug resistant micro-organisms. Further analytical and methodological preparatory work is performed on the available 2010-2013 isolate-based data in order to have a more in-depth analysis of MDR, notably to investigate associations between resistance traits and to carry out tracing analyses of the geographical and temporal diffusion of MDR. This project provides suitable analysis methods to address these questions and may identify areas for improvement in monitoring systems.

09 December 2014 - 08 June 2016