Antibiotic Resistance Lab Network

About the AR Lab Network

Established in 2016, CDC’s Antibiotic Resistance Laboratory Network (AR Lab Network) supports nationwide lab capacity to rapidly detect antibiotic resistance in healthcare, food, and the community, and inform local responses to prevent spread and protect people. The AR Lab Network includes seven regional labs, the National Tuberculosis Molecular Surveillance Center (National TB Center), and labs in 50 states, six cities, and Puerto Rico. As a whole, the network tracks changes in resistance and helps identify and respond to outbreaks faster.

AR Lab Network Regional Labs and the National TB Molecular Surveillance Center detect existing and emerging types of antibiotic resistance, track emerging resistance more effectively, and generate stronger data to protect people and combat future resistance threats. This ambitious approach transforms the nation’s laboratory landscape by establishing the much-needed infrastructure across the nation. This infrastructure will allow the public health community to rapidly detect emerging AR threats, sound the alarm for a comprehensive local response, and better understand these deadly threats so we can contain them quickly.

All 50 states, six large cities, and Puerto Rico received investments in 2016 and 2017 to increase capabilities to test for carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) and perform whole genome sequencing (WGS) on all Salmonella isolates. The Salmonella testing builds on the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System for Enteric Bacteria (NARMS), a public health surveillance system. The regional labs will complement these activities done at the local and state level by providing additional or confirmation testing and outbreak support for these pathogens, when needed.

The AR Lab Network complements additional CDC AR prevention and response investments, collectively known as CDC’s AR Solutions Initiative, to amplify prevention and response to fight antibiotic resistance nationwide.

How the AR Lab Network Works

When new resistance threats or outbreaks are detected within healthcare facilities or state and local labs, regional labs provide support, where needed, to characterize, support response, and track these discoveries. Since outbreak response varies by state, the support launched by the AR Lab Network may also vary by state or threat discovered. The regional labs will ensure more consistent and improved communication, coordination, and tracking at all levels—across healthcare facilities, state health departments, and CDC—every time.

The regional labs and National TB Center work together with CDC and state and local health department labs to:

• Detect new resistance and provide better big-picture trend tracking to create pathogen-specific solutions and support national public health strategies.
• Inform outbreak response when AR threats, like CRE, are reported, working together with state and local labs.
• Prevent and combat future AR threats by creating better data.
• Support innovations in antibiotic and diagnostic development. Samples from the labs will be made available through the CDC and FDA AR Isolate Bank, which researchers can use to develop earlier diagnoses and more effective treatment options.

The AR Lab Network Regional Labs also conduct targeted surveillance, as requested, for urgent, serious, and concerning threats identified by CDC, like Clostridium difficile, vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), and vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE).

 About the AR Lab Network Regional Labs and National TB Molecular Surveillance Center

The regional labs and National TB Center were strategically placed in regions of the United States to help track changes in resistance and help identify outbreaks with local technical support. The regional labs coordinate local efforts in the state health departments in Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Tennessee, Texas, Washington, and Wisconsin. Regions are defined by an existing regionalization scheme used by PulseNet.

Every regional lab does core testing. Select labs provide additional testing to support nationwide needs. The national tuberculosis center is equipped to perform WGS for isolates of Mycobacterium tuberculosis in the U.S.

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