Improving tools to enable comprehensive surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in humans, animals and the environment

A number of countries and international organizations have stressed the need for integrated surveillance systems to comprehensively detect and monitor antimicrobial resistance (AMR), particularly in animal and environmental reservoirs. The World Health Organization has responded with the development of the “Tricycle Protocol”, a basic protocol for the surveillance of antibiotic-resistant E. coli in healthy human populations (pregnant women), infected patients (bloodstream infections), in the animal sector (focusing on poultry), and in natural environments (targeting raw human and animal wastewater and surface water).

This project aims to strengthen the Tricycle Protocol by expanding the scope of AMR surveillance to include additional bacterial strains of significant public health concern. The project also proposes to integrate whole-genome sequencing technologies into the Tricycle Protocol. Doing so will greatly strengthen the epidemiological power of this surveillance system and allow for faster and more effective detection, investigation, and tracking of antimicrobial resistant bacteria.

This is one of five IDRC-funded projects developed through the Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial Resistance (JPIAMR), an international platform that coordinates global funding to support collaborative research and action on antimicrobial resistance. Through the JPIAMR, IDRC has partnered with 18 other donor agencies to fund innovative research on diagnostics and surveillance strategies, tools, and technologies that can be used to detect and monitor antimicrobial resistance in human, animal, and environmental settings, particularly in low and middle-income countries.