Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance under directive 2020/1729 in EU countries

Abstract

Monitoring of antimicrobial resistance is mandatory in all EU member states and is carried out according to the Decision of the European Commission No. 2020/1729. Member states are required to test annually the resistance of 170 isolates of Escehrichia coli, Salmonella spp., Campylobacter jejuni/coli and Enterococcus faecalis/fecium, by determining the minimum inhibitory concentration of antibiotic that inhibits bacterial growth (MIC). Also, they are obliged to test 300 isolates of Escherichia coli and Salmonella spp. for the production of ESBL, AmpC, or CP enzymes. Monitoring shall be carried out in accordance with the procedures described by the European Committee for Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST), according to the international reference method ISO 20776-1: 2021 (E) entitled "Susceptibility testing of infectious agents and evaluation of performance of antimicrobial susceptibility test devices - Part 1: Broth micro-dilution reference method for testing the in vitro activity of antimicrobial agents against rapidly growing aerobic bacteria involved in infectious diseases". Directive EU2020/1729 stipulates that isolates should come from healthy animals, so for these reasons, sampling at the slaughter line in slaughterhouses, retail outlets, as well as on disease-free farms is most appropriate.