42 U.S.C. § 247d: Combating antimicrobial resistance

The Secretary shall establish an Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force to provide advice and recommendations to the Secretary and coordinate Federal programs relating to antimicrobial resistance. The Secretary may appoint or select a committee, or other organization in existence as of November 13, 2000 , to serve as such a task force, if such committee, or other organization meets the requirements of this section. The task force described in paragraph (1) shall be composed of representatives from such Federal agencies, and shall seek input from public health constituencies, manufacturers, veterinary and medical professional societies and others, as determined to be necessary by the Secretary, to develop and implement a comprehensive plan to address the public health threat of antimicrobial resistance. public health factors contributing to increasing antimicrobial resistance; public health needs to detect and monitor antimicrobial resistance; detection, prevention, and control strategies for resistant pathogens; the need for improved information and data collection; the assessment of the risk imposed by pathogens presenting a threat to the public health; and any other issues which the Secretary determines are relevant to antimicrobial resistance. develop, improve, coordinate or enhance participation in a surveillance plan to detect and monitor emerging antimicrobial resistance; and develop, improve, coordinate or enhance participation in an integrated information system to assimilate, analyze, and exchange antimicrobial resistance data between public health departments. The task force described under paragraph (1) shall convene not less than twice a year, or more frequently as the Secretary determines to be appropriate. the development of new therapeutics, including vaccines and antimicrobials, against resistant pathogens; the development or testing of medical diagnostics to detect pathogens resistant to antimicrobials; the epidemiology, mechanisms, and pathogenesis of antimicrobial resistance; the sequencing of the genomes, or other DNA analysis, or other comparative analysis, of priority pathogens (as determined by the Director of the National Institutes of Health in consultation with the task force established under subsection (a)), in collaboration and coordination with the activities of the Department of Defense and the Joint Genome Institute of the Department of Energy; and other relevant research areas. develop and implement educational programs to increase the awareness of the general public with respect to the public health threat of antimicrobial resistance and the appropriate use of antibiotics; develop and implement educational programs to instruct health care professionals in the prudent use of antibiotics; and develop and implement programs to train laboratory personnel in the recognition or identification of resistance in pathogens. The Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities to enable such entities to increase the capacity to detect, monitor, and combat antimicrobial resistance. Eligible entities for grants under paragraph (1) shall be State or local public health agencies, Indian tribes or tribal organizations, or other public or private nonprofit entities. provide training to enable such entity to identify patterns of resistance rapidly and accurately; develop, improve, coordinate or enhance participation in information systems by which data on resistant infections can be shared rapidly among relevant national, State, and local health agencies and health care providers; and develop and implement policies to control the spread of antimicrobial resistance. The Secretary shall award competitive grants to eligible entities to establish demonstration programs to promote judicious use of antimicrobial drugs or control the spread of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. Eligible entities for grants under paragraph (1) may include hospitals, clinics, institutions of long-term care, professional medical societies, schools or programs that train medical laboratory personnel, or other public or private nonprofit entities. The Secretary shall provide appropriate technical assistance to eligible entities that receive grants under paragraph (1). The Secretary shall encourage reporting on aggregate antimicrobial drug use and antimicrobial resistance to antimicrobial drugs and the implementation of antimicrobial stewardship programs by health care facilities of the Department of Defense, the Department of Veterans Affairs, and the Indian Health Service and shall provide technical assistance to the Secretary of Defense and the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, as appropriate and upon request. aggregate national and regional trends of antimicrobial resistance in humans to antimicrobial drugs, including such drugs approved under section 356(h) of title 21 ; antimicrobial stewardship, which may include summaries of State efforts to address antimicrobial resistance in humans to antimicrobial drugs and antimicrobial stewardship; and any applicable resistance under paragraph (1); and drugs approved under section 356(h) of title 21 . The Secretary shall, as appropriate, disseminate guidance, educational materials, or other appropriate materials related to the development and implementation of evidence-based antimicrobial stewardship programs or practices at health care facilities, such as nursing homes and other long-term care facilities, ambulatory surgical centers, dialysis centers, outpatient clinics, and hospitals, including community and rural hospitals. identifying patterns of bacterial and fungal resistance in humans to antimicrobial drugs; preventing the spread of bacterial and fungal infections that are resistant to antimicrobial drugs; and promoting antimicrobial stewardship. provide a mechanism for facilities to report data related to their antimicrobial stewardship activities (including analyzing the outcomes of such activities); and antimicrobial resistance data using a standardized approach; and trends in the utilization of drugs approved under such section 356(h) of title 21 with respect to patient populations. The Secretary shall use available systems, including the National Healthcare Safety Network or other systems identified by the Secretary, to fulfill the requirements or conduct activities under this section. identify and monitor the emergence and changes in the patterns of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens; detect, identify, confirm, and isolate such resistant pathogens, including, as appropriate, performing such activities upon the request of another laboratory and providing related technical assistance, and, as applicable, support efforts to respond to local or regional outbreaks of such resistant pathogens; and perform activities to support the diagnosis of such resistant pathogens and determine the susceptibility of relevant pathogen samples to applicable treatments. The Secretary shall ensure that such capacity and capabilities are appropriately distributed among the geographical regions of the United States. Activities supported under this subsection may be based in an academic center, a State health department, or other facility operated by a public or private entity that carries out relevant laboratory or public health surveillance activities. supporting basic, translational, epidemiological, and clinical research related to antimicrobial-resistant pathogens, including such pathogens that have not yet been detected in the United States, and improving related public health surveillance systems, and laboratory and other response capacity; and providing technical assistance related to antimicrobial resistant infection and control activities. In carrying out paragraph (1), the Secretary may award grants, contracts, or cooperative agreements to public and private entities, including nongovernmental organizations, with applicable expertise, for purposes of supporting new and innovative approaches to the prevention, detection, and mitigation of antimicrobial-resistant pathogens. For purposes of subsections (f) through (j), the term “antimicrobial” includes any antibacterial or antifungal drugs, and may include drugs that eliminate or inhibit the growth of other microorganisms, as appropriate. Funds appropriated under this section shall be used to supplement and not supplant other Federal, State, and local public funds provided for activities under this section. There are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section, $40,000,000 for fiscal year 2001, $25,000,000 for each of the fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and such sums as may be necessary for each of the fiscal years 2004 through 2006. The Secretary of Health and Human Services (referred to in this section as the ‘Secretary’) may continue the Presidential Advisory Council on Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria, referred to in this section as the ‘Advisory Council’. the effectiveness of antibiotics; research and advanced research on, and the development of, improved and innovative methods for combating or reducing antibiotic resistance, including new treatments, rapid point-of-care diagnostics, alternatives to antibiotics, including alternatives to animal antibiotics, and antimicrobial stewardship activities; surveillance of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, including publicly available and up-to-date information on resistance to antibiotics; education for health care providers and the public with respect to up-to-date information on antibiotic resistance and ways to reduce or combat such resistance to antibiotics related to humans and animals; methods to prevent or reduce the transmission of antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections, including stewardship programs; and coordination with respect to international efforts in order to inform and advance United States capabilities to combat antibiotic resistance. The Advisory Council shall meet not less than biannually and, to the extent practicable, in coordination with meetings of the Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force established in section 319E(a) of the Public Health Service Act [ 42 U.S.C. 247d–5(a) ]. The Advisory Council shall, to the greatest extent practicable, coordinate activities carried out by the Council with the Antimicrobial Resistance Task Force established under section 319E(a) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d–5(a) ). The Federal Advisory Committee Act ([former] 5 U.S.C. App.) [see 5 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.] shall apply to the activities and duties of the Advisory Council. Not later than October 1, 2022 , the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate and the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the House of Representatives a recommendation on whether the Advisory Council should be extended, and in addition, identify whether there are other committees, councils, or task forces that have overlapping or similar duties to that of the Advisory Council, and whether such committees, councils, or task forces should be combined, including with respect to section 319E(a) of the Public Health Service Act ( 42 U.S.C. 247d–5(a) ).”