CDC Sends Millions for Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Lab Needs & Innovation

In August, CDC awarded more than $77 million to health departments and research partners nationwide to help fight existing and emerging antibiotic-resistant threats. Many of the new projects focus on stopping the spread of antibiotic-resistant germs in our communities, a growing problem CDC highlighted in its 2019 AR Threats Report.

Community-associated infections—like those from food, sex, and environmental risks—can happen to healthy people who have not had a recent interaction with healthcare, making spread more difficult to identify and contain. CDC and partners are taking aggressive actions to prevent and stop the spread of infections in the community, but stronger tracking and prevention are needed.

CDC provided more than $77 million to state health departments and research partners nationwide to help fight existing & emerging antibiotic-resistant threats.

With this continued funding, new CDC activities will include:

Enhanced antimicrobial susceptibility testing of Neisseria gonorrhoeae (N. gonorrhoeae) to rapidly confirm, through CDC's AR Lab Network, if treatment failed because the infection was caused by a resistant germ. CDC is also increasing whole genome sequencing for N. gonorrhoeae isolates, improving the nation’s ability to track and better understand resistance. Drug-resistant N. gonorrhoeae infections increased 124% between CDC’s 2013 and 2019 AR Threats Reports.
Tracking and screening azole-resistant Aspergillus fumigatus (A. fumigatus) specimens through CDC’s AR Lab Network. A. fumigatus is one of CDC’s Watch List pathogens because it is challenging to detect and can cause serious infections in people with compromised immune systems. This work will also help raise awareness that azole-resistant A. fumigatus may be increasing in healthcare settings in the United States.
CDC is also supporting innovative research through 8 studies, including topics on environmental, agriculture, and healthcare AR germs. Researchers will explore, for example, antibiotic-resistant pathogens in wastewater and study if antibiotic resistance genes contaminate livestock feed or pet treats.

Medical illustration of Aspergillus fumigatus

In addition to these projects, CDC will continue to support U.S. health departments in their efforts to prevent healthcare-associated infections, improve antibiotic use, and monitor national resistance trends.

More About this Funding

The latest awards have been made through CDC’s AR Solutions Initiative as part of annual appropriations made by Congress for AR work at CDC. The new funding includes:

$73M through CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity for Infectious Diseases (ELC) Cooperative Agreement, including $22M to support enhanced testing activities through CDC’s AR Lab Network
$4M+ to research partners to find innovative solutions that will protect Americans from antibiotic resistance
Support to all 50 states, several large cities, and 8 research partners