Open AccessAntimicrobial resistance in Italy: preliminary results from the AR-ISS project
Author(s) -
Delia Boccia,
Annalisa Pantosti,
Fortunato D’Ancona,
Stefania Giannitelli,
Monica Monaco,
Stefania Salmaso
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
euro surveillance/eurosurveillance
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.766
H-Index - 104
eISSN - 1560-7917
pISSN - 1025-496X
DOI - 10.2807/esm.07.06.00422-en
Subject(s) - antibiotic resistance , medical prescription , european union , medicine , antimicrobial , scale (ratio) , antibiotics , public health , intensive care medicine , psychological intervention , environmental health , business , geography , microbiology and biotechnology , biology , nursing , cartography , economic policy
Antimicrobial resistance represents a critical problem in human medicine today, from both clinical and economic points of view. In 1999, the Council of the European Union included antibiotic resistance among the public health priorities in the Community, and a resolution entitled 'A strategy against the microbial threat' was issued (1). According to this document, the establishment or strengthening of a surveillance system for the collection of reliable and comparable data on a national and international scale is one of the main interventions needed to control and prevent antibiotic resistance. Surveillance systems should also integrate data about the use and prescription of antibiotics (2).