NMDOH Scientific Laboratory Division Retail Meat Surveillance Program

Project Summary Antimicrobial resistance is one of our most serious health threats. Antimicrobial use in food animals can lead to antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. Infections from resistant bacteria are now too common, and some pathogens have even become resistant to multiple types or classes of antibiotics (antimicrobials used to treat bacterial infections). The loss of effective antibiotics will undermine our ability to fight infectious diseases and manage the infectious complications common in vulnerable patients. The Retail Meat Study is important because it provides surveillance of antimicrobial resistance among enteric bacteria that are isolated from retail meat products that are available for public consumption. By running surveillance at this level the FDA and CDC are able to better comprehend how antimicrobial resistance is emerging from the animal food chain.