Get Smart Week

November 17-23 was Get Smart About Antibiotics Week, an international observance to raise awareness about the threat of antibiotic resistance and the importance of appropriate prescribing and use. Get Smart Week is a key activity in CDC’s efforts to improve antibiotic stewardship in communities, health care facilities, and on farms in collaboration with other partners.

Earlier this year, the White House announced the National Strategy to Combat Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria. To support this, CDC will focus on:

Strengthening national surveillance efforts to track resistant bacteria,
Advancing development of rapid diagnostic tests to identify and characterize resistant bacteria, and
Improving international collaboration for antibiotic resistance prevention, surveillance, control, and antibiotic research and development.

To accomplish these goals, CDC has submitted a FY 2015 budget request for:

30 million for the Detect and Protect Against Antibiotic Resistance initiative to improve antibiotic prescribing practices and protect patients from drug resistant infections, and
$14 million for the National Healthcare Safety Network (NHSN) to fully implement tracking of antibiotic use and antibiotic resistance threats in U.S. hospitals.

Did You Know?

Each year, an estimated two million persons in the United States are infected with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and approximately 23,000 die as a result.
The rise of antibiotic resistance represents a serious threat to human and animal health, national security, and economies worldwide.
The use of antibiotics is the single most important factor leading to antibiotic resistance around the world.

Partners

CDC partners with National Institute for Animal Agriculture:

The National Institute for Animal Agriculture (NIAA) hosted a three-day symposium (November 12-14) on antibiotic use and resistance, and moving forward through shared stewardship.

The NIAA Antibiotics Symposium brought together academia, government researchers, public health experts, the scientific community and stakeholders within animal agriculture, human medicine and the environment.

CDC's Tom Chiller, Steve Solomon, and Rob Tauxe presented on the human-animal interface of antimicrobial resistance, and Chris Braden provided opening remarks on CDC’s efforts in antibiotic resistance and shared stewardship.

CDC and Partners "Get Smart" on Twitter

On November 18, CDC hosted an antibiotic-themed Twitter chat that coincided with Get Smart Week. The Twitter chat featured CDC experts Drs. Tom Chiller, Lauri Hicks, and Loria Pollack, who lent expertise on antibiotic resistance in animals and humans.