Animal & Veterinary
National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System
The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System – Enteric Bacteria (NARMS) was established in 1996 as a collaborative effort between the Food and Drug Administration's Center for Veterinary Medicine (FDA CVM), U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The NARMS program monitors changes in antimicrobial drug susceptibilities of selected enteric bacterial organisms in humans, animals, and retail meats to a panel of antimicrobial drugs important in human and animal medicine. Bacterial isolates are collected from human and animal clinical specimens, from healthy farm animals, and raw product from food animals. Retail meats collected from grocery stores were recently added to NARMS sampling. The primary objectives of NARMS include:
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To provide descriptive data on the extent and temporal trends of antimicrobial drug susceptibility in Salmonella and other enteric bacterial organisms from human and animal populations, as well as retail meats.
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To facilitate the identification of antimicrobial drug resistance in humans, animals, and retail meats as it arises;
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To provide timely information to veterinarians and physicians on antimicrobial drug resistance patterns.
Additionally, NARMS provides a national source of enteric bacterial isolates that are invaluable for research such as diagnostic test development, discovering new genes and molecular mechanisms associated with resistance, studying mobile gene elements, and for virulence and colonization studies.
The ultimate goal of these activities is to prolong the lifespan of approved drugs by promoting prudent and judicious use of antimicrobial drugs and to identify areas for more detailed investigation.
NARMS Point of Contact
Dr. Patrick McDermott
Director, National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS)
U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Center for Veterinary Medicine
Email: Patrick.McDermott@fda.hhs.gov