As of 2017, the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance continues unabated around the world, leaving devastating health and economic outcomes in its wake. Those consequences will multiply if collaborative global action is not taken to address the spread of resistance. Major drivers of antimicrobial resistance in humans have been accelerated by inappropriate antimicrobial prescribing in health care practices; the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in livestock; and the promulgation of antibiotic resistance genes in the environment.
To build on previous work, to explore developments since the last workshop was convened, and to help parlay knowledge into immediate action, an ad hoc planning committee, under the auspices of the Forum of Microbial Threats at the National Academies, planned a 2-day public workshop Combating Antimicrobial Resistance: A One Health Approach to a Global Threat. The workshop explored issues of antimicrobial resistance through the lens of One Health, which is a collaborative approach of multiple disciplines—working locally, nationally, and globally—for strengthening systems to counter infectious diseases and related issues that threaten human, animal, and environmental health, with an end point of improving global health and achieving gains in development. This proceedings of a workshop is a summary of the discussions that occurred at the workshop
