The Washington Integrated Surveillance for Antibiotic Resistance (WISAR) database project is a statewide effort coordinated by COHR, with support from the Washington Department of Health and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
The database currently includes over 200,000 results of antimicrobial susceptibility testing of bacteria from humans and animals in Washington state and the Pacific Northwest. These data come from hospitals, a large clinical laboratory (Quest Diagnostics), public health laboratories, the Washington Animal Disease Diagnostic Laboratory and a large veterinary diagnostic laboratory (Phoenix Laboratories).
The WISAR database project is now generating regular reports and analyses of trends in antimicrobial resistance in humans and animals in our region. It is also providing antibiogram summary tools for human and animal clinicians and antibiotic stewards as decision aids to help reduce the use of medically important antibiotics.
In this way, the WISAR project is helping to promote the concept of “shared stewardship” efforts across human, animal and environmental sectors.