Epidemiologist University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Hummelstown, United States
Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) undermines patient treatment and public health responses to infectious diseases. At the 2015 World Health Assembly, member states pledged to implement national AMR action plans (NAAPs) through a multi-sectoral One Health approach. Use of the internet to promote surveillance and antimicrobial stewardship offers unique benefits.
Objectives: This study seeks to examine the extent to which ministries of health have taken advantage of this opportunity.
Methods: In January 2023, we collected web-based antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance information in each of 24 jurisdictions, four in each of the World Health Organization (WHO) regions (available at www.who.int/countries). Selection criteria included availability, current gross domestic product estimates by the World Bank, and a website in English. On each jurisdiction’s website, we searched for practical information on the homepage highlighting appropriate antibiotics use and documented information about annual Antibiotic Awareness Week. We recorded whether information was available about national monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals. We compared the web-based data with each country’s responses to the 2020-2021 survey regarding implementation of their NAAPs (at www.amrcountryprogress.org).
Results: Of the 24 national jurisdictions’ websites surveyed, most (87.5%) have information about AMR, while 14 (58%) had highlighted annual Antibiotic Awareness Week but none linked to the WHO campaign. The majority (80.3%) of websites had some information about monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals. However, only 9 (37.5%) websites had raw or summarized data on AMR in humans, and only 7 (29.1%) in animals. By comparison, in the NAAP survey, 21 (87.5%) countries responded that they have a national surveillance system for AMR in humans, and 18 (75%) responded that they have a national surveillance system for AMR in live terrestrial animals.
Conclusions: Ministries of health in many countries have taken advantage of the web to increase general awareness about the threat of antimicrobial resistance. Limited presence of raw or summarized data from national surveillance and little information to engage stakeholders in the animal world suggests need for improvement. Our examination of self-reported responses and web-based information indicates an opportunity for dissemination of surveillance findings.
