What CDC is Doing: AR Solutions Initiative

CDC Invests in the Nation

Antibiotic resistance has the potential to impact all Americans at every stage of life. CDC is committed to protecting Americans, and is leading efforts to

tackle the threat of antibiotic resistance,
drive aggressive action with healthcare, veterinary, and agriculture partners, and
empower the nation to comprehensively respond to antibiotic resistance.

CDC Combats AR in your Area

Find the latest CDC AR activities by state: AR Investment Map.

CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Solutions Initiative supports national infrastructure to detect, respond, contain, and prevent resistant infections across healthcare settings, food, and communities. CDC has distributed the largest extramural portion of funding to support all 50 state health departments, six local health departments, and Puerto Rico.

These investments will better protect people by:

Detecting, Responding, and Containing Resistant Pathogens
- Laboratory & Diagnostics: Gold-standard lab capacity offered to all state and regional labs through CDC’s AR Laboratory Network
- Epidemiology Capacity for Response: Increased capacity in state and local health departments for rapid detection and faster response to outbreaks and emerging resistance related to healthcare-associated infections, foodborne bacteria, and gonorrhea—to contain and control spread
Preventing Spread of Resistant Infections
- Surveillance & Science: More effective prevention of healthcare-associated infections, foodborne illness, tuberculosis, and gonorrhea
- Improved Antibiotic Use: With partners, improve antibiotic use to ensure antibiotics work to protect patients from life-threatening infections or sepsis
Encouraging Innovation for New Strategies, Drugs, and Diagnostics
- Insights for Practice: With academic and healthcare partners, CDC is investing in innovations and collaborating with investigators to identify and implement new ways to prevent antibiotic-resistant infections and their spread
- Research and Development: Sharing isolates that inform development of new drugs and diagnostics, and making public CDC’s sequencing data from AR pathogens to spur innovation in industry

Meeting National Goals to Prevent Drug-resistant Infections

In fiscal year 2016 (FY16), Congress appropriated an unprecedented $160 million of new investments for CDC to fight antibiotic resistance. This appropriation increased to $163 million in FY17. With FY16 investments, CDC implemented the AR Solutions Initiative to transform the approach to tackle AR at all levels and to work toward meeting national goals to prevent drug-resistant infections.

The Initiative is built upon collaborations and previously established programs across CDC, including with professional organizations, health systems, and academic institutions. This work is also done in partnership with state and local public health departments and Puerto Rico, academia, and healthcare partners. Most of the support for AR activities are through the Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Solutions Initiative, while also leveraging investments from successful programs across the agency for maximum efficiency.