Web

The links below are provided for informational purposes only; APUA does not necessarily agree with or endorse the positions and opinions of these organizations.

APUA Consumer Resources
APUA Practitioner Resources
 
Food Producer Organizations

Animal Health Institute An industry group representing animal pharmaceutical manufacturers. 

Infectious Diseases Websites
ID Links Collection of links to online infectious disease resources.

Johns Hopkins Infectious Diseases Updated information on infectious diseases including hepatitis, STDs, tuberculosis, and HIV/AIDS treatment, prevention, research, education, epidemiology from doctors at Johns Hopkins University. Contains an "Antibiotic Guide" section.

ProMED Program to Monitor Emerging Diseases - a global system for early detection and timely response to disease outbreaks.

World Health Organization Infectious Diseases: The WHO’s site contains extensive information about a variety of global infectious diseases.

Public Interest Advocacy Organizations and Non-Profits
AWARE - the Alliance Working for Antibiotic Resistance Education.

Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance A Canadian organization working in coordination with governmental and non-profit organizations to help prevent an increase in antibiotic resistance.

Center for Science in the Public Interest A public interest advocacy organization that emphasizes the importance of nutrition and food safety; this section describes an antibiotic resistance project including both human and animal use of antibiotics.

Consumers' Union An organization providing unbiased evaluations of consumer products and services, personal finance, health and nutrition, and other consumer concerns; this link connects to information on antibiotic resistance as part of a larger report on livestock operations.  

Environmental Defense An environmental group that is dedicated to protecting the environmental rights of all people; this link connects to information about the group's activities designed to preserve the effectiveness of antibiotics.

International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene:  A global non-profit working to improve health and wellbeing by promoting the importance of hygiene in the home and community.

Keep Antibiotics Working A campaign focused primarily on combatting overuse of antibiotics in agriculture. It was launched by a coalition of public health, environmental, consumer, and agricultural advocacy groups.

Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy A non-profit research organization that promotes resilient family farms, rural communities and ecosystems throughout the world.

The PEW Charitable Trusts: This organization supports the elimination of the overuse of antibiotics in food animals.  Find out about their initiatives at this site.

For a comprehensive list of research references on the topic of antibiotic resistance and agriculture, see PEW's Literature Review.

ReAct: An international non-profit organization dedicated to linking individuals, organizations, and networks taking action to respond to antibiotic resistance.

Sierra Club The United States' oldest environmental organization that promotes responsible use of the world's ecosystems and promotes care and restoration of the quality of the natural environment; this link connects to information and media articles about antibiotics used on farms.

Union of Concerned Scientists An alliance of citizens and scientists working for a cleaner
environment and a safer world.

U.S. Government Agencies
Food and Drug Administration Center for Veterinary Medicine (CVM) Regulates drugs and food additives given to animals; this page is devoted to information on antimicrobial resistance as well as CVM actions regarding antimicrobials.

US Centers for Disease Control & Prevention's web page on antibiotic resistance. Check out CDC's report, "Antibiotic Resistance Threats 2013."

Environmental Protection Agency Regulates certain use of antimicrobials as pesticides in plant agriculture.

FOODNET A surveillance program coordinated by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and FDA; this tracks the occurrence and epidemiology of food-borne diseases in the US.

NAHMS (National Animal Health Monitoring System) A USDA program to collect, analyze and disseminate data on animal health and productivity.

NARMS (National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System): Enterics A surveillance system to monitor resistance in human enteric bacteria implemented by CDC, FDA, and USDA.

Tacoma-Pierce County An antimicrobial resistance program designed by a county health department, tailored to a mixed rural and urban population.

International Government Agencies
European Union Information concerning the EU strategy on antimicrobial resistance.

Health Canada The Canadian federal body responsible for helping Canadians maintain and improve their health; this page provides information about antibiotic resistance, focused on the human aspect.

World Health Organization (WHO) An international organization devoted to achieving the highest state of health possible for all individuals; they have a site on anti-infective drug resistance (anti-infective resistance) and on non-human uses of antimicrobials (non-human use). Of particular interest is the WHO's Global Strategy for the Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance.

European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (European Commission)
http://www.rivm.nl/earss

Business and Pharmaceuticals

Clorox: Site provides information on cleaning and disinfecting the home.

Pfizer A research-based global pharmaceutical company; this site has an article about antibiotic resistance.

Medical and Scientific Professional Organizations
American Society for Microbiology (ASM) The nation's largest professional organization in the biological sciences; their site contains conference proceedings, articles, and other materials related to antibiotic resistance.

American Veterinary Medical Association The nation's largest veterinary organization; this site has guidelines for judicious therapeutic use of antimicrobials for animals.

Asociacion Panamericana de Infectologia (API):
 
Association for Professionals in Infection control and Epidemiology, Inc. (APIC): An organization dedicated to improving health and patient safety in the US healthcare system by reducing the risk of infection and other adverse outcomes.

Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA):  A professional organization representing physicians, scientists and other health care professionals who specialize in infectious disease.

Sociedad Latinoamericana de Infectologia Pediatrica

The Committee to Reduce Infection Deaths

The International Society of Chemotherapy

The Society of Infectious Diseases Pharmacists

Articles

Antibiotic Resistance in Africa - Discerning the enemy and plotting defense by Iruka N. Okeke and Anibal Sosa.

The PAHO Clinical Guide for the Treatment of Infectious Diseases (published in Spanish)offers a model for countries to adapt and implement among prescribers. It offers a comprehensive approach in the choice of antimicrobial agents for the empirical treatment of infectious diseases in the community and hospital settings. This guide, for practical use, has a plain text for reference.(31/Dec/2002).

Perspectives in Health Magazine, PAHO, Antibiotics: Are We Killing the Cures? (English),Antibióticos: ¿Estamas acabando con los remedios? (Español), by A. Spatuzza, 7(1), 2002.

WHO Global Strategy for Containment of Antimicrobial Resistance, WHO, 2001. Available in English, Spanish or Russian. The Executive Summary is also available in French.

FDA Consumer reports that antibiotic resistance is becoming a public-health nightmare, 2002.

Scientific American article on antibiotic resistance: The challenge of Antibiotic Resistance, SB Levy, 1998.

The study entitled “Changes in the use of antimicrobials and the effects on productivity of swine farms in Denmark” identifies positive results from the enactment of policies in Denmark that regulate antimicrobial use in agriculture. Trends showed a decrease in antimicrobial consumption per kilogram of pig produced from 1992-2008 along with an improvement in overall swine productivity. These findings provide the best evidence supporting a ban on the use of antimicrobial growth promoters.

Andrew Jack's article "Public Health: Raised Resistance" in the Financial Times reports on how and why the cavalier use of medicines has left mankind struggling to contain diseases once thought to be on the verge of elimination.

Books

Written by internationally acclaimed experts in the field of antibiotic resistance,Antibiotic Policies: Fighting Resistance addresses many of the key issues burdening our societies and hospitals during this era of antibiotic resistance and growing shortage of new antibiotics. The book provides practical advice and control strategies for the critical problems related to current antibiotic resistance epidemics and for any future problems associated with antibiotic resistance. Antibiotic Polices: Fighting Resistance is highly recommended for health professionals with an interest in this field.

Antibiotic Policies: Fighting Resistance
Edited by
Ian M. Gould
Jos W.M. Van Der Meer
Foreword by John McGowan