October, 2007 - New Website for CIPARS
The Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial
Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) is pleased to announce the launch
of their new website. The website is available in English and French
at
http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca/cipars-picra/index_e.html.
August, 2007 - New Website for Northern Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (NARP)
A new website has been launched to focus on the emergence of antimicrobial resistant organisms in hospitals and communities in the northern areas of Canada. The Northern Antibiotic Resistance Partnership (NARP) is comprised of a team of community members, healthcare professionals, educators and research scientists working in partnership to study antimicrobial resistant bacteria causing infections in northern communities. A three-pronged approach has been developed to understand and combat this issue. We invite you to review the website at: www.narp.ca
March 29, 2007 - Report from Sweden on antibiotic utilisation and resistance
"Swedres 2005", the fifth report on Swedish antibiotic utilisation and resistance in human medicine, was presented in May 2006. Compared with the rest of Europe, antibiotic consumption and resistance levels in Sweden are relatively low. However, global travel and trade facilitate the spread of bacteria between countries and continents. As a consequence, also in Sweden, increasing resistance trends are seen for some pathogens, notably ESBL-producing enterobacteriaceae.
Smittskyddsinstutet (Swedish Institute for Infectious Disease Control), Stolckholm, Sweden
March 22, 2007 - British Columbia Auditor General's Report on Infection Control
News Release
Backgrounder
For the full reports, please visit: BC Auditor General's website
February 2, 2007 - CIPARS 2005 Preliminary Results Released
The Canadian Integrated Program for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (CIPARS) preliminary results are now available:
CIPARS 2005 Preliminary Results (PDF format)
In addition, PHAC has also released additional data, including the frequency of bacterial isolation (recovery rates) for various commodities and products in their active surveillance programs from 2002 to 2005:
Recovery rate and final number of isolates submitted for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) testing across the bacterial species, the active surveillance components and the animal species, 2002-2005 (PDF format).
For additional information, please visit the CIPARS website.
Surveillance Background
Well co-ordinated antimicrobial surveillance programs help to reduce human suffering and assist in determining the best ways to spend precious health care dollars. Personnel in diagnostic laboratories, government, community health care, acute care hospitals, long-term care facilities and various private sector industries contribute surveillance data which collectively provides a comprehensive view of antibiotic resistance in Canada.
The emergence of multiple-drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB) has serious funding ramifications.
A single case of MDR-TB may cost up to $500 000 to treat, while antibiotic-susceptible TB costs approximately $20 000 to treat.
The incidence of MDR-TB has doubled since 1996.
In the AgriFood sector, there is increased evidence of the transfer of resistant bacteria or resistance determinants from livestock to humans via food or direct contact. Surveillance of resistance patterns in animals and in the food transfer of resistance along the food chain. More sophisticated analysis will be possible only after comprehensive surveillance data is readily available.
Canada's surveillance capability within health care facilities was strengthened in 1994 with the creation of the Canadian Nosocomial Infection Surveillance Program (CNISP). A formal alliance of the Canadian Hospital Epidemiology Committee (CHEC - a subcommittee of the Canadian Infectious Diseases Society) and the Bureau of Infectious Diseases' Division of Nosocomial (hospital-acquired) and Occupational Infections. The CNISP is supported by health care practitioners in 23 sentinel hospitals in nine provinces and includes 80% of health care facilities affiliated with medical schools across Canada.
A five-year surveillance by CNISP reported that the incidence of MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) in Canada has increased from a mean of one-half of 1% S. aureus isolates in 1995 to 6.1% in 1999 (0.3/1,000 admissions in 1995 to 4.3/1,000 admissions in 1999). The surveillance involved up to 35 sentinel hospitals across the country. A total of 4,502 new MRSA cases were identified between January 1995 to December 1999. Of the 3,009 cases where the site of MRSA acquisition was known, 86% were acquired in a hospital, 8% were acquired in a long-term care facility, and 6% were community-acquired. The significant increase in MRSA has been related to the transmission of a relatively small number of "epidemic" MRSA strains.
In Canada, the first outbreak of VRE (vancomycin resistant enterococcus) occurred in 1996 in Canada - 17 years after the first recorded outbreak in the United States. While the incidence of VRE remains low at 1% in Canada, VRE is advancing. In 1995 only two Canadian hospitals in two provinces had seen VRE in a patient. Today VRE has been documented in more than 110 hospitals in 11 provinces and territories.
