partners,² a major objective of the process. The plan will be implemented incrementally, dependent on the availability of resources.

The Action Plan provides a blueprint for specific, coordinated federal actions to address the emerging threat of antimicrobial resistance. This document is Part I of the Action Plan, focusing on domestic issues. Since AR transcends national borders and requires a global approach to its prevention and control, Part II of the plan, to be developed subsequently, will identify actions that more specifically address international issues. The Action Plan, Part I (Domestic Issues), includes four focus areas: Surveillance, Prevention and Control, Research, and Product Development. A summary of the top priority goals and action items in each focus area follows.

Unless AR problems are detected as they emerge—and actions are taken quickly to contain them—the world may soon be faced with previously treatable diseases that have again become untreatable, as in the pre-antibiotic era. Priority Goals and Action Items in this focus area address ways to:

• Develop and implement a coordinated national plan for AR surveillance;

• Ensure the availability of reliable drug susceptibility data for surveillance;

• Monitor patterns of antimicrobial drug use; and

• Monitor AR in agricultural settings to protect the public’s health by ensuring a safe food supply as well as animal and plant health.

A coordinated national surveillance plan for monitoring AR in microorganisms that pose a threat to public health will be developed and implemented. The plan will specify activities to be conducted at national, state, and local levels; define the roles of participants; promote the use of standardized methods; and provide for timely dissemination of data to interested parties, e.g., public health officials, clinicians, and researchers.