Multidrug resistant, extensively drug-resistant and pandrug-resistant bacteria: an international expert proposal for interim standard definitions for acquired resistanceArchived
A group of international experts came together by a joint initiative by ECDC and CDC, to create a standardised international terminology to describe and classify resistant bacteria.
Emergence of resistance to multiple antimicrobial agents in pathogenic bacteria has become a significant public health threat. As this problem continues to grow, harmonised definitions to describe and classify bacteria that are resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents are needed, so that epidemiological surveillance data can be reliably collected and compared across healthcare settings and countries.
A group of international experts came together by a joint initiative by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), to create a standardised international terminology with which to describe acquired resistance profiles in Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus spp., Enterobacteriaceae (other than Salmonella and Shigella), Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter spp., all bacteria often responsible for healthcare-associated infections and prone to multidrug resistance.
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The definitions are published in Clinical Microbiology and Infection and are openly accessible.
Updates of the definitions will, when performed, be posted on this page hosted by ECDC.