Surveillance uncovers the smoking gun for resistance emergence

Today, antibiotic resistance is becoming a major healthcare concern. As global travel increases, more antibiotic-resistant bacteria will be disseminated from one country to another, thereby imposing a problem worldwide. Since the development of resistance is an evolutionary process, constant surveillance is needed to gain insight into the problem and surveillance studies needed to document the spread of antibiotic resistance. The basic objectives of surveillance studies in antimicrobial resistance are: to determine the level of resistance in a particular geographical area; to monitor changes in the level of resistance and make this information available to therapeutic policy-makers, as well as to detect new mechanisms of resistance for use as early warning signs; to study how such resistance develops, persists and spreads, and to monitor interventions. Although, surveillance provides the smoking gun for emergence of antibiotic resistance, improvement of the system is necessary and may be achieved through enhanced information technology and diagnostic tools. (c) 2005 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.