The National Action Plan for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria 2015 – 2020 (2015 Plan) has guided the U.S. Government’s response to combating antibiotic-resistant infections since its establishment in 2015. The U.S. Government’s Interagency Task Force for Combating Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria (CARB) has produced four previous reports on progress toward the 2015 Plan. This Year 5 Report presents highlights of activities achieved during the last year of the 2015 Plan and summarizes major accomplishments achieved between 2015 and 2020. In addition to the specific activities, this report discusses challenges and barriers faced in their implementation.
While these achievements have generated significant progress toward the 2015 Plan’s five goals, antibiotic resistance remains an urgent threat in the United States and abroad. In 2020, the CARB Task Force issued an updated National Action Plan to be implemented between 2020 and 2025 (2020 Plan) that describes continuing and new high priority actions for reducing antibiotic resistance in the next five years. The CARB Task Force will continue to report annually on progress toward the 2020 Plan’s targets.