Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria

AHRQ works alongside Federal Agencies across the Government as part of the Task Force for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB). The goal of this Task Force is to reduce antibiotic resistance by carrying out the actions described in the National Action Plan for CARB, 2020-2025.

AHRQ specifically supports this National Action Plan in three ways:

Funding research on infection prevention, combating antibiotic resistance, and finding new ways to improve the use of antibiotics.
Translating significant findings from this research into practical resources that help practitioners improve how care is actually delivered to patients.
Investing in research on how best to integrate FDA-approved new and existing diagnostics into clinical care to identify antibiotic-resistant infections and inform appropriate treatment.

This work is part of AHRQ’s Healthcare-Associated Infections Program, which focuses on improving antibiotic use, reducing transmission of resistant organisms, and preventing infections in the first place, a foundational step toward combating antibiotic resistance. Every infection prevented is one less instance of antibiotic use, and using fewer antibiotics significantly reduces the risk for resistant infections.