The National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) is a U. S. public health surveillance system that tracks antimicrobial susceptibility of select foodborne enteric bacteria. NARMS was established in 1996 as an interagency, collaborative partnership between U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

NARMS monitors antimicrobial resistance among enteric bacteria from three sources:

• Humans (CDC)
• Retail Meats (FDA)
• Food Animals (USDA)

Primary Objectives of NARMS

• Monitor trends in antimicrobial resistance among foodborne bacteria from humans, retail meats, and animals
• Disseminate timely information on antimicrobial resistance to promote interventions that reduce resistance among foodborne bacteria
• Conduct research to better understand the emergence, persistence, and spread of antimicrobial resistance
• Provide data that assists FDA in decision making involving the approval of safe and effective antimicrobial drugs for animals

ARS Supports NARMS Efforts by:

• Conducting research that compliments and informs NARMS goals
• Collaborating with NARMS partners to identify resources that can be leveraged to accomplish the goals NARMS partners
• Conducting studies and recommending solutions that inform the environmental component of NARMS One Health approach
• Identifying trends, characterizing the molecular and environmental ecology of antibiotic resistance and promoting interventions that reduce resistance among foodborne bacteria

Key Resources:

Beginning in 2012, antimicrobial resistance data for bacteria from food animals, humans, and retail meat was incorporated into a NARMS integrated report. Years 2012 and 2013 were combined and can be found here under “Archived Reports”: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance/NationalAntimicrobialResistanceMonitoringSystem/ucm418884.htm 

The most recent integrated report is for calendar year 2015 and can be found here:  https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance/NationalAntimicrobialResistanceMonitoringSystem/ucm059103.htm

Interactive data searches (which includes animal data) can be found here: https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance/NationalAntimicrobialResistanceMonitoringSystem/ucm416741.htm

Links to older animal data as well as data that can be downloaded is available here:

https://www.fda.gov/AnimalVeterinary/SafetyHealth/AntimicrobialResistance/NationalAntimicrobialResistanceMonitoringSystem/ucm570685.htm