National Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance (EARS-Net Ireland)
Health Protection Surveillance Centre (HPSC).
1999 (Staphylococcus aureus; Streptococcus pneumonia);
2002 (Escherichia coli; Enterococcus faecalis and Enterococcus faecium);
2006 (Klebsiella pneumoniae; Pseudomonas aeruginosa);
2014 (Acinetobacter spp.).
To monitor trends in antimicrobial resistance data from 8 key pathogens (listed above) in order to inform infection prevention and control teams and other policy decision makers.
The data from EARS-Net are used to produce a national report on S. aureus/MRSA bacteraemia by acute hospital.
All microbiology laboratories are required to participate in EARS-Net surveillance. However, resource issues can result in labs suspending their participation.
Between 2017 and 2020, coverage of the Irish population has exceeded 95%.
Data are available from 1999-2021.
The European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (EARSS) was established in 1999 in response to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance in Europe. In 2010 EARSS coordination was transferred to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and renamed the European Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (EARS-Net).
EARS-Net Ireland comprises a network of 36 microbiological laboratories serving 60 acute hospitals (both public and private) in Ireland that collects routinely-generated antimicrobial susceptibility testing data on invasive infections caused by eight important bacterial pathogens: S. aureus, S. pneumoniae, E. coli, E. faecalis, E. faecium, K. pneumoniae, P. aeruginosa and Acinetobacter spp.
Additionally, data are collected on invasive cases of:
- Group A and Group B streptococci
- Candida spp. to check for the presence of C. auris, an important emerging pathogen.
Clinical microbiologists; Surveillance Staff, Medical Scientists, Infection Prevention and Control Teams, Hospital Managers; National Policy Makers.
Laboratory data: laboratory code; isolate data; isolate sample number (lab); sample type (i.e. blood or CSF); date of sample collection; antibiotic susceptibility testing.
Patient data: patient ID/MRN; sex; date of birth; hospital data; EARSS hospital code; date of admission; hospital department (if available).
Not available.
No.
No.
EARS-Net collects data on the first invasive isolate (from blood or cerebrospinal fluid) of each pathogen per patient per year.
The majority (95%) of the records are received electronically (usually as file downloads from the Laboratory Information Management System; Excel files; or WHONET files, a free software used to manage antimicrobial resistance data). For the remaining 5%, isolate record forms are submitted (but these are being phased out in 2022).
Data is currently collected on an annual basis (note: pre-pandemic, this was on a biannual basis).
Not in use.
Approximately 6,200 records created in 2021.
Annual reports published on HPSC website (www.hpsc.ie).
Data requests can be submitted via hpsc@hse.ie and will be assessed on a case-by-case basis.
No.