Global antimicrobial resistance: from surveillance to stewardship. Part 2: stewardship initiatives

22nd European Congress of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases London, UK, 31 March-3 April 2012 Twelve months after the WHO launched its World Health Day 2011 campaign to combat antimicrobial resistance, antibiotic stewardship initiatives were a major focus at the annual meeting of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, in London, UK. In the second part of their report from the Congress, the authors review the impact of some of these initiatives in achieving their goals of reducing overall antibiotic usage, ensuring timely, appropriate prescribing and avoiding sub-optimal dosing and unnecessarily prolonged treatment. The authors also report new data on antibiotic prescribing in primary care and latest research in the development of novel antibiotics for the future.