Action Plan — Table of Content
Please note: The entire Public Health Action Plan to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance can also be downloaded or ordered:
The downloadable version is identical to the original and can be easily printed out.
Table of Contents
a. |
In this document, the term "antimicrobial" is used inclusively to refer to any agent (including an antibiotic) used to kill or inhibit the growth of microorganisms (bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites). This term applies whether the agent is intended for human, veterinary, or agricultural applications. |
b. |
Implementation of this Action Plan requires working with a wide variety of partners, e.g., state and local health agencies, universities, professional societies, pharmaceutical and biotechnology companies, health care delivery organizations, insurers, agricultural producers, consumer groups, and the public. A wide variety of expertise is needed, e.g., from clinicians, consumers, pharmacists, microbiologists, epidemiologists, behavioral and social scientists, economists, health policy researchers, and others. Partners and expertise needed will vary with different action items. |
c. |
In this Action Plan, appropriate antimicrobial drug use is defined as use that maximizes therapeutic impact while minimizing toxicity and the development of resistance. In practice, this means prescribing antimicrobial therapy when and only when beneficial to a patient; targeting therapy to the desired pathogens; and using the appropriate drug, dose, and duration. |
d. |
Except where specified, these issues, goals, and action items apply to human AR issues and not to nonhuman (e.g., agricultural) issues. Agricultural issues refer to the production of animals and plants, as well as fish and other species (aquaculture). |
e. |
Public health surveillance is the ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of data for use in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice. Desirable qualities of any system include simplicity, flexibility, acceptability, sensitivity, and representativeness. A surveillance system also includes the timely dissemination of these data to persons who can undertake effective prevention and control activities, including clinicians, researchers, laboratorians, and public health personnel. (MMWR, Guidelines for Evaluating Surveillance Systems, May 6, 1988/37(S5);118.) |
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