We Cannot Do It Alone: The Intersection of Public Health, Public Policy, and Clinical Microbiology

Abstract

Infectious diseases by definition spread and therefore have impact beyond local hospitals and institutions where they occur. With increasingly complex and worrisome infectious disease evolution including emergence of multidrug resistance, regional, national, and international agencies and resources must work hand in hand with local clinical microbiology laboratories to address these global threats. Described are examples of such resources, both existing and aspirational, that will be needed to address the infectious disease challenges ahead. The authors comment on several instances of entrenched policy that are nonproductive and may be worthy of revision to address unmet needs in infectious disease diagnostics.

Keywords: Antimicrobial Resistant Laboratory Network; Epidemiology; FDA-CDC Biobank; FoodNet; Laboratory-developed test; Multidrug resistance; New antibiotics; Public health microbiology.