Antimicrobial Resistance
Antimicrobial resistance is a growing threat to effective treatment of infection. The Montana Public Health Laboratory provides the following information to assist providers, pharmacies, and laboratories in their efforts to manage antibiotic use. To align Montana’s program more closely with national infection control initiatives, the Montana Public Health Laboratory will update the antimicrobial susceptibility data collected from clinical sites, beginning with data generated in 2012.
Guidance Document for Implementation of CRE & CRPA Testing at the Montana Public Health Laboratory
CDC’s Epidemiology and Laboratory Capacity Cooperative agreement (ELC) has requested Public Health Laboratories to collect, confirm, and characterize carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CRPA) isolates. These activities will help to identify isolates that produce a carbapenemase and classify the kind of carbapenemase resistance present. Isolates will be collected from jurisdictional healthcare facilities using a strategy that allows for estimating the burden of CRE and CRPA within the population served by the Public Health Laboratory. The Public Health Laboratory and state Epidemiologists will collaborate with the state HAI/AR prevention programs and with the Antimicrobial Resistance Laboratory Network regional laboratories (ARLN). This Guidance document will identify expectations for testing, submitting, and reporting. Download the complete guidance document.
Statewide Antibiograms
Montana Public Health Laboratory is no longer constructing the annual statewide antibiogram. For information regarding your local facility antibiogram, contact the state Health Acquired Infection (HAI) Program Coordinator, Erika (Baldry) Araos, Erika.baldry@mt.gov or (406) 444-0275.
