Washington State Public Health Lab Narms Retail Meat Surveillance Project

Project SummaryThe National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) is a U.S. publichealth surveillance system that tracks antibiotic resistance in enteric bacteria fromhumans, retail meats, and food animals. Data obtained from investigations conductedby participating laboratories within the NARMS food surveillance program will assist indeveloping pre-approval safety evaluations of new animal antibiotics, determiningparameters for antimicrobial use in veterinary medicine, and the ability of public healthand partners to provide information for the development of new interventions to reduceresistance among foodborne bacteria.The primary goal of our continued participation in the NARMS food surveillanceprogram is to improve the detection and surveillance for antimicrobial resistance amongenteric bacteria in raw retail meat commodities by providing data obtained from selectstores in the state of Washington. The primary objectives of our project are 1) Collectand process samples within a relevant time frame, such as that described in the FDAprotocol and guidelines 2) Perform microbiological tests, such as those described in theproject protocol, of the total samples suggested by the FDA 3) Utilize microbiologicalresults from the project to analyze quality assurance practices 4) Integrate andcoordinate surveillance activities 5) Exchange relevant and complete surveillance data6) Use data to inform program and policy development 7) Employ data for education oncurrent and emerging hazards 8) Support awareness of antimicrobial resistance amongthe public 9) Identify foodborne illness outbreaks and coordinate outbreak investigations10) Analyze antimicrobial resistance data in our jurisdiction over time 11) Defend ourjurisdictions involvement in protecting and promoting the public's health.Funds from this application award will be used over the next 5 years to: 1) enhancedoutbreak investigation response and reporting 2) improve surveillance to drive publichealth action in WA State 3) seek collaboration opportunities among city, county, state,and federal partners and other external partners 4) sustain and enhance our laboratorydiagnostic capabilities 5) improve laboratory coordination and outreach/information flowin order to coordinate stronger connections between our communicable diseaseepidemiologists and laboratory functions at the state and local levels in WA State 6)explore ways to develop integrated surveillance information systems.