Emerging Infections Program as Surveillance for Antimicrobial Drug Resistance

Across the United States, antimicrobial drug–resistant infections affect a diverse population, and effective interventions require concerted efforts across various public health and clinical programs. Since its onset in 1994, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Emerging Infections Program has provided robust and timely data on antimicrobial drug–resistant infections that have been used to inform public health action across a spectrum of partners with regard to many highly visible antimicrobial drug–resistance threats. These data span several activities within the Program, including respiratory bacterial infections, health care–associated infections, and some aspects of foodborne diseases. These data have contributed to estimates of national burden, identified populations at risk, and determined microbiological causes of infection and their outcomes, all of which have been used to inform national policy and guidelines to prevent antimicrobial drug–resistant infections.