1 Resistance problems of global concern

1.1 Priority human and animal pathogens

Bacteria isolated from clinical sources and animals may have acquired resistance to one or more antimicrobials. A minority of these are both virulent and have the capacity to spread widely and cause problems on a global scale.

Of the eight WHO-listed human pathogens which are the focus of the Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) some are exclusive to humans, some can be zoonotic, and some affect both humans and animal species.

In contrast, different bacteria are the main focus of active AMR surveillance in healthy animals, of which some are commensals and some zoonotic pathogens (EFSA, n.d.; FAO, n.d.). In some countries, such as France, Denmark and the USA, bacterial pathogens from certain animal species are included in routine AMR surveillance, for example, livestock-associated MRSA in pigs and Salmonella in cattle (CDC, 2019; DVFA, n.d.). AMR data on these bacterial pathogens are generated from routine laboratory investigations when animals display clinical disease and from controls at abattoirs on healthy animals.

  • Can you recall the names of any GLASS pathogens? [For clinicians]

  • The eight key bacterial pathogens identified by WHO as the focus of GLASS AMR surveillance programmes are:

    • Staphylococcus aureus
    • Streptococcus pneumoniae
    • Acinetobacter species
    • Escherichia coli
    • Klebsiella pneumoniae
    • Neisseria gonorrhoeae
    • Salmonella species
    • Shigella species

  • Can you recall the names of any commensal or pathogenic bacterial flora in animals which are important causes of zoonotic infection and/or introduction of resistant bacteria via the human food chain? [For veterinarians]

  • Organisms of concern include:

    • two serotypes of Salmonella, Enteritidis and Typhimurium
    • Campylobacter species
    • Enterococcus species, especially E. faecium and E. faecalis;
    • E. coli
    • K. pneumoniae

For background information see the EFSA Panel on Biological Hazards (2009) and WHO (2018).

Introduction

1.2 WHO priority human pathogens for antimicrobial R&D