International implementation of ASIARS-net for AMR surveillance: Building on JANIS

Area of Science:

• Global Health
• Infectious Diseases
• Data Science

Background:

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing global health threat.
• Effective surveillance systems are crucial for monitoring and combating AMR.
• The Asian Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (ASIARS-Net) is an international web-based system for AMR surveillance.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide a narrative review of the history, characteristics, and progress of the ASIARS-Net system.
• To compare ASIARS-Net with other surveillance platforms, particularly WHONET.
• To clarify the complementary roles of ASIARS-Net and WHONET in AMR surveillance.

Main Methods:

• Narrative review of ASIARS-Net.
• Comparative analysis of ASIARS-Net and WHONET based on usability, data analysis, and management.
• Evaluation of ASIARS-Net implementation in Thailand and Vietnam.

Main Results:

• ASIARS-Net enables confidential database maintenance, data processing from WHONET or Excel, and generation of national and facility-level feedback reports.
• In Thailand, data from 74 hospitals and three additional hospitals were processed for feedback reports and inter-hospital comparisons.
• In Vietnam, ASIARS-Net use with WHONET or Excel led to reports on over 140,000 isolates in 2024, revealing higher inpatient AMR pathogen rates than in Japan.

Conclusions:

• ASIARS-Net is evolving into a globally relevant platform.
• ASIARS-Net serves as a valuable complement to WHONET for AMR surveillance and research.
• The system supports AMR surveillance and research at various scales, from national to facility-level.