[Antibiotic resistance: recommendations from the Advisory Council for Health Research]

The Advisory Council for Health Research (RGO) advised the Dutch Minister of Health on research into the epidemiology, prevention and research of antibiotic resistance in the Netherlands. Good antimicrobial practice, insight into antibiotic use, implementation of measures to prevent development of resistance and fundamental research on resistance should be promoted. It was concluded that there is very little extramural surveillance and that only a few existing intramural surveillance programmes appear useful for long-term monitoring, inclusion into international databases and comparison purposes. The initiatives taken by the Working Party on Antibiotic Policy (SWAB) and the National Institute of Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), including the development of a standard for susceptibility testing and the coordination of surveillance studies according to international standards, should be supported and continued. The RGO committee is impressed by central and integrated national surveillance programmes such as those in Denmark or Finland. This approach however seems not necessary for good medical practice and not currently feasible. Priority should now be given to specific projects which focus on specific resistance problems among well-defined patient groups, and on indicator-organisms and indicator-antibiotics.