2019 NARMS Update: Integrated Report Summary

The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) is a national public health surveillance system that monitors enteric bacteria and select animal pathogens to determine if they are resistant to antimicrobial agents used in human and veterinary medicine. NARMS is a collaboration of agencies within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) (Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS), Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, and Agricultural Research Service).

The NARMS program tracks trends in antimicrobial resistance over time, identifies new types and patterns of resistance, and helps measure the impact of interventions designed to limit the spread of resistance. NARMS data are used by FDA in the regulatory review of new animal antimicrobial drugs, and to develop policies on judicious antimicrobial use in animals. To minimize potential consumer exposure to pathogens and antimicrobial resistance thereof, the CDC and FSIS use NARMS information on a case-by-case basis in foodborne illness and outbreak investigations.