Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria
AHRQ works alongside Federal Agencies across the Government as part of the Task Force for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB). The goal of this Task Force is to reduce antibiotic resistance by carrying out the actions described in the National Action Plan for CARB, 2020-2025.
AHRQ specifically supports this National Action Plan in three ways:
- Funding research on infection prevention, combating antibiotic resistance, and finding new ways to improve the use of antibiotics.
- Translating significant findings from this research into practical resources that help practitioners improve how care is actually delivered to patients.
- Investing in research on how best to integrate FDA-approved new and existing diagnostics into clinical care to identify antibiotic-resistant infections and inform appropriate treatment.
This work is part of AHRQ’s Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, which focuses on improving antibiotic use, reducing transmission of resistant organisms, and preventing infections in the first place, a foundational step toward combating antibiotic resistance. Every infection prevented is one less instance of antibiotic use, and using fewer antibiotics significantly reduces the risk for resistant infections.
Read more:
- National Action Plan for CARB, 2020-2025 (PDF, 7 MB).
- National Action Plan for CARB, 2015-2020 (PDF, 519 KB).
- Latest Progress Report (PDF, 2.5 MB).
- Summary of Federal CARB Efforts.
