Use of the web by public health jurisdictions to disseminate practical information to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship programs and enhance surveillance —United States, 2017

Background: Combating antimicrobial resistance (AR) calls for widespread implementations of stewardship programs coupled with infrastructure for detection and response to multi-drug resistant organisms (MDROs).  Our aim was to document use of the web by public health jurisdictions to disseminate practical information to strengthen antimicrobial stewardship and enhance surveillance for MDROs including carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE).

Methods: In May 2017 we collected Web-based antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance information in each of the 57 jurisdictions that submit data on nationally notifiable diseases to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). On each jurisdiction’s websites, we searched for practical information highlighting appropriate antibiotics use and stewardship in acute care and long-term care facilities.  We also recorded presence of information on drug-resistant infections including surveillance for CRE.

Results: Most (84.2%) of the public health jurisdictions websites have AR information and five (8%) had highlighted it on their homepage.  Information on appropriate antibiotic use across healthcare settings varied and 30% had ≥1link to guidelines for antimicrobial stewardship.  Two-thirds of the jurisdictions’ sites included a link to the CDC Get Smart website while 35% promoted judicious use of antibiotics on the farm (Figure).   Eight jurisdictions (14%) included requirements for reporting CRE and five of these jurisdictions had specific details on submission of isolates.

Conclusion: Public health jurisdictions have begun to take advantage of the web to increase general awareness about the threat of antimicrobial resistance.   Limited presence of information to promote antimicrobial stewardship and enhance surveillance suggests need for improvement.  The web could be leveraged as a source of practical information to support antimicrobial stewardship and surveillance for MDROs including CRE by increased communication among web designers, epidemiologists, and healthcare providers.

Figure. Practical information to promote antimicrobial stewardship and enhance surveillance on public health jurisdictions’ websites, United States — 2017