ABSTRACT
The global emergence and spread of multidrug resistant bacterial infections in communities and hospitals has become an important issue in public health. The resistance rate of gram-positive cocci to vancomycin and the resistance rate of several gram-negative bacilli against cefotaxime and carbapenem have been continuously increasing. Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance is essential for providing information on the magnitude of and trend in multidrug resistance. Therefore, beginning 2011, more robust and effective management is to be legally required for six multidrug-resistant bacteria that have been linked to healthcare-related infections: vancomycin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (VRSA), vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE), methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA), multidrug-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (MRPA), multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MRAB), and carbapenem-resistant Enterobactericeae (CRE). We have also performed laboratory-based sentinel surveillance for VRSA/VISA since 2002 and carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae since November, 2010. This article reviews the national surveillance programs, and molecular epidemiology of multidrug-resistant bacteria.