About CIPARS

• Background
• A Call for Action
• Building the System
• Overview
• Mandate
• Changes to CIPARS
• Contact Information

Building the System

Health Canada agreed that a national integrated surveillance system is needed to document the extent and variation in AMR occurrence both geographically and temporally, linked to variations in antimicrobial use and other contributors to AMR.  The resulting information, provided in a timely fashion, is vital for the development of appropriate risk management strategies and informed policy decisions.

To guide the development of an integrated national surveillance program, a coordinated effort was needed.  The Laboratory for Foodborne Zoonoses (LFZ) and the Foodborne, Waterborne and Zoonotic Infections Division (FWZID) partnered with the National Microbiology Laboratory (NML) to fulfill this mandate.  Together they formed the National Steering Committee on Antimicrobial Resistance in Enterics (NSCARE), which has members from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), and provincial agriculture ministries of Quebec, Ontario and Alberta.  Additional input into the development of CIPARS is received from the national Enteric Disease Steering Committee (ENDS), the Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network (CPHLN), and the National Steering Committee on Antimicrobial Use Monitoring.  A CIPARS strategic planning session was conducted in October 2003, which brought together multiple groups to refine strategies and plans for future expansion. 

The initial work of CIPARS and its research partners (public sector and private industry groups, and universities**) involved implementation of a number of background studies to systematically explore various options for collecting accurate, representative, harmonized national data on the magnitude and distribution of AMR in enteric organisms from animals, food and humans. A similar set of targeted data source assessment studies were conducted for antimicrobial use monitoring purposes in both the human and agri-food sectors.

Based on the findings of these background studies, it was concluded that, although some data were being collected via passive surveillance systems and research projects, a new active surveillance program would be needed in order to obtain continuous, methodologically harmonized and nationally representative data on human and agri-food antimicrobial use and bacterial resistance.  Active surveillance demonstration projects were launched to test the feasibility of a fully integrated national surveillance system.  These projects were developed and implemented in partnership with numerous private and public sector groups*, with PHAC (formerly Population and Public Health Branch of Health Canada) support and coordination.  To enhance the comparability of data domestically and internationally, all laboratories agreed to employ the United States National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) susceptibility testing methodology, using an automated Sensititre™ System (TREK Diagnostics) which tests antimicrobial susceptibility (currently to 15 antimicrobials) using a broth microdilution methodology.  LFZ performs susceptibility testing and primary isolation of bacterial species from animal and food samples; susceptibility testing and further characterization for human isolates is the responsibility of NML. Data sharing agreements were prepared to facilitate integrated analysis and communication of results.

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*Public Sector Groups included:  Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Canadian Public Health Laboratory Network.  Private Sector Groups included:  Intercontinental Medical Statistics Health, Canadian Meat Council, Canadian Poultry and Egg Processors Council, National Renderers Association, Federally Registered Abattoirs.

** Public Sector Groups included:  Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Alberta Agriculture Food and Rural Development, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Fisheries.  Private Sector Groups included: Ontario Cattlemen’s Association, Centre for Coastal Health, University of Guelph, University of Saskatchewan.