The Canadian Committee on Antibiotic Resistance (CCAR) hosted a National Policy Conference,October 5-7, 2002 in Aylmer, Quebec. The goal of the meeting was to gain input on the ongoing development of a National Action Plan to address problems related to antibiotic resistance. The invitational conference gathered 125 experts from the health, agriculture and aquaculture sectors, including health care professionals and representatives of government, academia, non-profit organizations and industry.
The event built upon groundwork for a national strategy initiated through a Consensus Conference hosted by HealthCanadaand the Canadian Infectious Diseases Society in 1997. The 2002 National Policy Conference was designed to revisit and test the continued validity of key recommendations emanating from the 1997 efforts; to mark milestones achieved in the control of resistance; to identify current areas of consensus and debate among experts; and to set priorities for the next phase in development of an integrated National Action Plan. The meeting employed a consensus-building process which generated discussion, reports and recommendations on a range of topics.
Five themes emerged as clear priorities for national action:
- An integrated surveillance system dealing with antimicrobial resistance for both human and animal pathogens as well as antibiotic use
- Optimizing antibiotic use in both human and animal settings
- Improving infection prevention methods
- Initiating the research priorities identified during the Conference
- Consolidating and extending education efforts through a multidisciplinary information program
Financial and policy considerations were explored as components of all the above themes. CCAR will use information compiled from the conference to further the formulation of the National Action Plan.
CCAR Working Groups are being activated with a mandate to feed into a multi-stakeholder National Action Plan Task Force. The Task Force will be responsible for developing the National Action Plan and will assist in soliciting input and commitment from the broader community and various levels of government prior to the end of March 2004.
National Action Plan to Address Antibiotic Resistance is now available (Adobe Acrobat document)
