1.2 A recap of the basics of surveillance systems

If you have previously completed modules An introduction to AMR surveillance, Introducing AMR surveillance systems, AMR surveillance in animals and/or An overview of national surveillance systems, you will have learned about the purpose of public health surveillance, which is the ‘ongoing, systematic collection, analysis, and interpretation of health-related data essential to planning, implementation, and evaluation of public health practice, closely integrated with the timely dissemination of these data to relevant public health stakeholders to inform action at a local, national or global level’ (WHO, n.d. 4).

Strengthened AMR surveillance systems across human and animal health is one of the five strategic priorities of the WHO’s Global Action Plan (GAP) on AMR [Tip: hold Ctrl and click a link to open it in a new tab. (Hide tip)] . Initiatives to strengthen AMR surveillance around the world include PAHO’s GLASS (Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System), ReLAVRA (Latin American Network for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance) and the ECDC’s EARS-Net (European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network). Each of these systems collates national-level data on AMR to understand regional or global scale trends. These systems also support countries to strengthen their national surveillance systems, including improving data quality and implementing standardised measurements. This means measurements can be compared directly across settings and over time. More information about these systems is available in the module Introducing AMR surveillance systems.