National Antimicrobial Susceptibilty Testing Committees (NACs)

EUCAST recommends that countries form a “National Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Committee” (or a committee corresponding to this description). Countries in the process of adopting EUCAST antimicrobial susceptibility testing guidelines will find this particularly useful during the implementation process. The chairperson, or another committee officer, should represent the country on the EUCAST General Committee.

The document linked here presents EUCAST suggestions on How to organise and form a NAC (revised 2019).

NACs are invited to provide a link to their website for EUCAST to post below.

List of and brief information on National breakpoint committees and NACs:

Albania. The mission of the Albanian NAC (KKTNAE) is to recommend nationally standardized methods for the in vitro determination of antimicrobial resistance determinants as well as to develop antibiotic breakpoints in collaboration with EUCAST, thereby helping to generate reliable and reproducible national data of antimicrobial resistance. KKTNAE will work on the appropriate and reasonable use of antibiotics, including recommending resistance panels for testing as well as contributing to the preparation of national antibiotic use guidelines. More information is available on the website of the KKTNAE.

Australia. Australian NAC. Originally established in mid-2011 to provide expert advice and further the cause of skill development in the area of antimicrobial susceptibility testing, the Australian Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing, AUSCAST (previously known as the ASA National EUCAST AST Committee, AusNAC) is a subcommittee of the Australian Society for Antimicrobials (ASA) and the affiliated national committee within the European Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (EUCAST) network. In 2024, the ASA endorsed a new committee structure to support Australian laboratories that perform and report AST results, which is inclusive of different breakpoint references (e.g., EUCAST and CLSI). This committee has adopted the name ‘AUSCAST’.

In order to increase the reach and impact of the committee, the upgrade and rebrand the committee now includes a formal structure with an Executive (chair, scientific secretary, education officer), 8 general members (applications received from the ASA membership), and 4 co-opted

members (representing New Zealand, AGAR, APAS and Pharmacy). Positions are held for 2-year terms with a chance to renew twice more.

AUSCAST undertakes a number of key roles throughout the year, including:

Organising the AST workshop at the ASA annual meeting
Acting as the central point-of-contact to support diagnostic laboratories with AST questions
Providing educational content in basic and advanced aspects of AST, including regular articles in the ASA Breakpoint quarterly newsletter

Furthermore, AUSCAST endeavours to provide additional national services, including:

Developing national AST resources including guidelines, advice documents, and a library of AST comments for final AST reports
Coordinating multi-laboratory projects and studies
Provide input and formal responses for general consultation documents sent out by EUCAST
Disseminating alerts and warnings from EUCAST and CLSI

AUSCAST discusses topics and questions asked of the committee from laboratories, and, if possible, provide feedback, guidance or commentary to be available for all.

Belgium. Working under the auspice of the Belgian Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (BVIKM-SBIMC), the Belgian National Antibiogram Committee (NAC) is dedicated to advancing the field of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. Our mission is to provide leadership, guidance, and support in the development, standardization, and dissemination of reliable and evidence-based methods for determining the susceptibility of microorganisms to antimicrobial agents.

The Belgian NAC strives to foster collaboration among healthcare professionals, researchers, and stakeholders in order to enhance the accuracy, consistency, and clinical relevance of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. We aim to facilitate the translation of scientific advancements into practical tools and guidelines that can be readily adopted by laboratories, healthcare institutions, and public health agencies nationwide.

Through continuous evaluation and refinement of testing methodologies, the NAC endeavors to optimize the detection and monitoring of antimicrobial resistance patterns, enabling timely and informed decision-making in patient care, infection control, and public health interventions. We are committed to promoting antimicrobial stewardship principles and empowering healthcare providers with the knowledge and resources necessary to optimize the use of antimicrobial agents and preserve their effectiveness. By promoting standardization, quality assurance, and proficiency testing programs, the NAC aims to improve the comparability and reliability of susceptibility data across laboratories and facilitate the generation of robust epidemiological data on antimicrobial resistance.

More information is available at the website of the Belgian NAC.

The latest achievements can be found at the website and include national EUCAST implementation (from <50% in 2019 to >90% in 2023) through educational workshops, support of reviewing national anti-infective guidelines (IGGI) adapted with EUCAST dosage table and the current edition of national susceptibility results testing and reporting guidance.

Brazil (BrCAST). Four societies in Brazil (Brazilian Society for Clinical Analysis, Brazilian Society for Clinical Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Brazilian Society for Infectious Diseases and Brazilian Society for Microbiology) signed a Technical Cooperation Agreement in August 2013, creating the Brazilian Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (BrCAST). This committee aims at providing scientific expertise and generating data that could support decisions from ANVISA, the Brazilian regulatory health agency. It also aims at leading and promoting the development and standardization of antimicrobial susceptibility tests in Brazil according to EUCAST guidelines. Click here to access the website of BrCAST.

Canada (CANCAST). CANCAST (Canadian Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Committee) was established in early 2016 in association with the Canadian Standards Association (CSA) to provide expert advice in the area of antimicrobial susceptibility testing to Canadian clinical laboratories. Until this time a variety of standards and guidelines had been used in Canadian laboratories.

CANCAST is composed at present of an Executive Committee with medical and clinical microbiology and infectious diseases experts and ex officio involvement of the Therapeutics Products Directorate (TPD) of Health Canada. Advisors, representing medical microbiology and infectious diseases experts, national organizations (e.g. AMMI-CACMID) provincial jurisdictions, the Public Health Agency of Canada, National Microbiology Laboratory, external quality assurance agencies, provincial laboratory accreditation bodies, and susceptibility test manufacturers are being recruited to provide encompassing support for CANCAST. The current Chair of CANCAST is Dr. Bob Rennie, from Edmonton, Alberta.

The goals of CANCAST are to:
Provide standardized antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and breakpoints for Canadian laboratories (primarily for anti-bacterial and anti-fungal testing) that are consistent with global standards (EUCAST) where available.
Provide advice to groups conducting resistance surveillance, on laboratory methods, testing concentrations, and on interpretation of data relevant to the type of resistance surveillance being undertaken.
Provide educational workshops on basic and advanced aspects of susceptibility testing.
Interact with TPD and other antimicrobial standards groups (EUCAST, CLSI) to ensure that methodologies and breakpoints are harmonized internationally.

China (The People´s Republic of China). The Chinese AST Committee for China, named as the Chinese Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (ChiCAST) joined EUCAST as the Chinese NAC in 2017.

The organization was founded by experts in fields of clinical microbiology, clinical infectious disease, clinical pharmacology and veterinary medicine. This effort is supported by several domestic professional societies and a broad base of scientists across the disciplines of infectious disease, laboratory medicine, pharmacology and pharmacodynamics, toxicology, in vitro and in vivo modeling, antimicrobial discovery and development, resistance surveillance and monitoring, antimicrobial drug stewardship, and the epidemiology of infections.

Membership: The third term ChiCAST(2023- ) committee structure consist of chairman, vice chairman, standing committee, general committee, academic advisor, secretariat and members. The Chairman is Professor Qiwen Yang (Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing). The honorary chairman is Professor Yingchun Xu (Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing). The vice chairmans are Professor Hui Wang (Peking University people’s hospital, Beijing), Professor Jing Zhang (Huashan hospital of Fudan University, Shanghai), Professor Bo Zheng (The first hospital of Peking University, Beijing) and Prof Chao Zhuo (The first affiliated hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou). The scientific secretary general is Dr. Ying Zhao (Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing).

The standing committee is comprised of 25 experts from the fields of clinical microbiology, clinical ID, clinical pharmacology and veterinary medicine.

The general committee and academic advisor are comprised of 29 and 22 experts, respectively.

Priority Objectives:

Provide a venue for Chinese individual practitioners/scientists and medical societies to interact with the EUCAST/EMA process of antimicrobial testing and development of interpretive criteria. Create ChiCAST website and translate the EUCAST documents and guidelines related to antimicrobial susceptibility testing.
Review and endorse the "best use choice" of established reference and standardized antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods currently found in public domain documents for dilution and agar disk diffusion procedures.
Using China-FDA Microbiology Sections of product package inserts, CLSI tables and EUCAST published guidelines, review clinical breakpoints and provide best, consensus published breakpoints recommendations to the agency and for use in Chinese medical practice.
Review new agent development data regarding those items impacting the selection of antimicrobial susceptibility testing breakpoint criteria for clinical practice. Conduct scientific research on antimicrobial susceptibility testing and breakpoint settings.
Provide readily accessible breakpoints and other guidelines for antimicrobial chemotherapy related to tested available agents, on an electronic format (online/website) to minimize cost and maximize widespread clinical/laboratory utility. Rapid application of breakpoints would be facilitated by collaborations with commercial susceptibility testing systems manufacturers and regulatory agencies.
Seek continued support and/or participations from established investigators in the disciplines important to antimicrobial breakpoint determinations.

Meetings: The ChiCAST members will meet face to face at least once per year. Additional meetings will be scheduled during national and international meetings (Peking Union Medical College Forum, ECCMID, etc) and via teleconference, as needed by ChiCAST committee.

Contact Information:

Chairman: Prof Qiwen Yang, Email: yangqiwen81[at]vip.163.com

Secretary general: Dr Ying Zhao, Email: zhaoying28062806[at]163.com

Cyprus. The Cyrpus NAC was formed in 2019 on the initiative of the government. Dr Christos Karagiannis (Microbiologist-Biopathologist Medical Officer) at the Microbiology Department National Reference Laboratory for Mycobacteria- National Reference Laboratory for Salmonella and other Enteric Pathogens National Reference Laboratory for Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance, at the Nicosia General Hospital 215, Paleos Dromos, Lefkosia-Lemesos str., 2029 Strovolos, Nicosia, CYPRUS, was appointed to lead the NAC and to be the General Committee representative. Dr Karagiannis can be reached at ckaragiannis[at]mphs.moh.gov.cy.

Denmark. The Danish National AST committee was established in 1996 as a subcommittee under the auspice of the Danish Society of Clinical Microbiology. The first Chairman was Knud Siboni. In 2007 the Committee was restructured into Danres with responsibility for surveillance and political issues and a subcommittee on methodology and and quality assurance DanresM. In Danres the members are representatives from all departments of Clinical Microbiology and Statens Serum Institut,

in DanresM the number of members has varied but today has a similar structure. Danres meets twice a year and DanresM 4 times a year. DanresM has 3 members in NordicAST, the committee for Norway, Sweden and Denmark.

Estonia. Estonian EUCAST working group (NAC)

Finland. Finnish Study Group for Antimicrobial Resistance (FiRe) acts as the NAC of Finland.

FiRe was established in 1992 for harmonization of susceptibility testing in Finland. It consists of the representatives of all major Finnish clinical microbiology laboratories (23 laboratories in 2018) and National Institute for Health and Welfare (THL). The steering committee of FiRe is elected every three years and consists of 8-10 experts in AST representing clinical laboratories and THL. The steering committee has regular teleconference meetings six to eight times a year. FiRe has also its representative in the multidisciplinary National Advisory Board of Antimicrobial Resistance Prevention.

The main objectives of FiRe are to sustain the high quality of the harmonized susceptibility testing methodology in Finland and to support national resistance surveillance and prudent use of antimicrobial agents.

Specific objectives are:

Implement harmonized breakpoints in the whole country; since 2011 EUCAST breakpoints.
Communicate with laboratories to ensure that all are informed of breakpoint changes.
Provide national guidelines for laboratory methods.
Guide prudent use of antimicrobial agents by optimizing susceptibility panels.
Provide representatives for the antimicrobial susceptibility testing committees: EUCAST General Committee and NordicAST.
Respond to EUCAST requests for information and to consultation documents.
Communicate with national organization (THL) involved in antimicrobial resistance surveillance.
Produce annually national antimicrobial resistance report (Finres report).
Communicate with other stakeholders.

Education

FiRe organizes workshops twice a year. The cost of the workshops is covered by THL (government) and the workshops are open to all and free of charges. THL also supports clinical laboratories to participate these workshops.

A link to the website: www.finres.fi (no english translation)

France. Groupe Comité de l’Antibiogramme - Société Française de Microbiologie (sfm-microbiologie.org)

CA-SFM was founded in 1980. It is composed of fourteen members (clinical microbiologists representing National Reference Centres and various actors in French microbiology, pharmacologists, and infectious diseases practitioners) and has at least four annual meetings. The primary role of CA-SFM has been to propose breakpoints but also to establish interpretation rules of the “antibiogramme”, taking into account an in-depth knowledge of the accepted mechanisms of resistance and of the technical procedures for their detection. These rules have been discussed and developed under French leadership in the EUCAST expert rules subcommittee.

The recommendations of CA-SFM are published in a “Communiqué” annually revised and updated.

CA-SFM belongs to the Steering Committee and the General Committees of EUCAST and actively participates to their work.

Germany. During the period 2001 - 2011 Germany was represented by DIN and provided strong support in the work to establish EUCAST and the process through which harmonisation of breakpoints in Europe was achieved. The committee was then abandoned and now Germany is served by the German NAC, founded the 14th of June, 2012. Major objectives are I) to establish EUCAST breakpoints and technical aspects of in vitro antimicrobial susceptibility testing in German laboratories, II) to adapt EUCAST breakpoint to local requirements, and (III) to evaluate breakpoints for antimicrobial agents that have not yet been considered by EUCAST.

The organizational structure largely follows that of EUCAST. The General Committee comprising representatives of national scientific societies and organizations in the fields of infectious diseases and patient safety decides on recommendations proposed by the Steering Committee. The Steering Committee currently consists of 14 experts having a background in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases or regulatory affairs. Both boards will meet at least once a year. Industry has an observational status only.

Greece. Greece formed a NAC in 2017, co-chaired by George Daikos & Spyros Pournaras.

Hungary. Hungary reorganised its NAC in 2023. The chair is now Tibor Pál. We thank Akos Toth for his service through many years. An imminent task is the translation of the EUCAST breakpint table to Hungarian. Read more.

Ireland. The Irish Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Committee

Moldavia. The Moldavian AST Committee for Moldova named as the Moldavian Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (MCAST) joined EUCAST as the Moldavian NAC in 2017.

The organization was founded by experts in fields of clinical microbiology and clinical infectious diseases. This effort is supported by professional societies and a broad base of scientists across the disciplines of infectious disease, laboratory medicine, resistance surveillance and monitoring the epidemiology of infections caused by resistant microorganism.

Objectives:

Provide commune meetings for Moldavian microbiologists, epidemiologists, infectious disease physicians and other clinicians and put in discussion EUCAST guidelines (methods for antimicrobial testing, interpretive criteria of the EUCAST and in the development of local trends of antimicrobial resistance).
Implementation of the EUCAST published guidelines, review yearly clinical breakpoints and provide best, consensus published breakpoints and give recommendations to the agency for use in Moldavian medical practice.
Contribute to standardized antimicrobial susceptibility testing methods and breakpoints for Moldavian microbiological laboratories that are consistent with global standards (EUCAST) where available.
Provide opportunities and expert advice to all microbiological laboratories (private and public health sector) and other stakeholders in Moldova on all aspects of phenotypical susceptibility testing methods, detection of resistance microorganisms testing and interpretation of data relevant to the type of resistance surveillance.
Contribute and offer good practice in quality assurance in accord with EUCAST guidelines for the nominated laboratories in Moldova.
Provide educational activities (such as conferences lectures, symposia, and workshops) on basic and advanced aspects of susceptibility testing and Assist laboratories in transitioning from CLSI to EUCAST methods and breakpoints.
Enhance awareness and understanding of antimicrobial resistance through educational workshops for health professionals working in the Healthcare sector (through participation in organization of World Antibiotic Awareness Week, conference etc.).
To create a common scheme/framework for the dissemination of knowledge to the population and to promote awareness on issues regarding antimicrobial resistance;

Membership: The Committee consists of 4 members (including medical microbiologists from the public health sector, infectious disease physician) and society representatives (Society for Microbiology of Moldova).

Chair and Gen Comm representative of Moldovian NAC in EUCAST is MD, MPH, PhD, Associate professor Olga Burduniuc, National Center of Public Health.

Current members of the Executive Committee are Greta Balan Phd MD, Associate professor, State University of Medicine and Pharmacy “Nicolae Testemitanu”, Liliana Tofan MD, head of microbiology laboratory, Elena Diulgher head of microbiology laboratory, Iulia Sinitina head of clinical microbiology laboratory, Irina Bunescu university assistant, infectious disease physician.

Meetings: The Moldavian National AST Committee members will meet face to face at least twice per year. Additional meetings will be scheduled during national and international meetings (CAESAR, ECCMID, etc.) and annually within Moldavian Biosafety and Biosecurity conference. Contact information: Prof Olga Burduniuc, E-mail: olgaburduniuc3[at]gmail.com

Montenegro. The Montenegrin NAC was formed in 2017 by the Ministry of Health of Montenegro. This enabled a harmonized transition from CLSI to EUCAST standards and the use of EUCAST discs in microbiological laboratories in Montenegro. In fact, the essence is precisely in ensuring the quality of work in microbiological laboratories, which is additionally strengthened through staff education regarding the use of EUCAST standards and antimicrobial therapy/resistance. Certainly, the Ministry of Health has the central place for fulfilling obligations, which should recognize the constant need for progress in this area through the support provided.

Morocco. The Moroccan Society of Medical Microbiology (www.smamm.ma) in 2014 set up a National Committee on Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing (CA-SMAMM).

The objectives of the CA-SMAMM is to promote the standardization of antimicrobial susceptibility testing in the public and private sectors by promoting and developing EUCAST guidelines (www.eucast.org) in the daily laboratory practice.

The achievement of these objectives will be done by establishing annual work program including seminars and workshops led by national and international experts and by participation with EUCAST in various studies and surveys.

The members were appointed mainly on the basis of their expertise in the field of microbiology and regional and national representation has been respected. The Committee consists of eleven members and includes microbiologists, representatives of the administration, private and public laboratories and a veterinary. The President is Professor Amina Benaouda.

The Netherlands. Dutch Working Group on Antibiotics (SWAB) The Dutch Committee on Susceptibility testing (CRG, Commissie Richtlijnen Gevoeligheidsbepalingen, formerly WRG) was established in 1971 to develop methodology in antimicrobial susceptibility testing and define clinical breakpoints and critical zone diameters. The first chairman was R. Peter Mouton and the secretary B. van Klingeren. He was succeeded by J. Degener and Johan W. Mouton, and later Anouk Muller. As of 2010, the CRG is a subcomittee of the SWAB, the Dutch Working Party on Antibiotic Policy. The number of committee members in the group varied but was typically 10 and consisted of specialists in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, pediatrics and clinical pharmacology. Breakpoints and critical zone diameters were originally published as reports and in later years in the Journal of the Dutch Society of Medical Microbiology.

New Zealand. The New Zealand National AST Committee has released its website. Please visit at http://www.nzmn.org.nz/nz-nac/.

Contact Julia Howard (julia.howard2[at]cdhb.co.nz). For NZ NAC administrative issues, address info.NZMN[at]esr.cri.nz

North Macedonia, formed a NAC 2017. The chair is Dr. Dr Golubinka Bosevska.

Norway. Norwegian Working Group on Antibiotics (NWGA)

The Norwegian Working Group on Antibiotics (NWGA; in Norwegian Arbeidsgruppen for antibiotikaspørsmål - AFA), was formed in 1978 and consisted of four specialists in clinical microbiology and two specialists in infectious diseases, appointed by the respective specialist committees in the Norwegian Medical Association. In 2005 NWGA became an official advisory expert group for the Norwegian Directorate of Health and the group was expanded to nine members and the Institute of Veterinary Medicine and the Norwegian Medicines Agency appointed observers. NWGA establish national guidelines for antimicrobial susceptibility testing (bacteria and fungi). This work is performed in close collaboration with other Scandinavian countries and follows EUCAST recommendations. NWGA also arrange national bi-annual courses (practical and theoretical) in antimicrobial susceptibility testing.

Russian Federation. The Russian NAC has translated several EUCAST documents and tables:

Clinical breakpoints – bacteria (v 8.0) (1 Jan, 2018)
EUCAST Expert rules , intrinsic resistance and exceptional phenotypes v 3.1 (Sept 27, 2016)
Preparation of agar plates and broth for EUCAST AST v 5.0 (9 January, 2017)
EUCAST Disk Diffusion - Manual v 6.0 (9 January, 2017)
EUCAST Disk Diffusion - Slide Show (9 January, 2017)
EUCAST Disk Diffusion - Reading Guide (9 January, 2017)
QC tables v 8.0 (2018-01-04)

Visit the website of the Russian NAC.

Serbia. The Serbian NAC was established in 2017 by Ministry of Health, the Republic of Serbia. It consists of eight members (including clinical microbiologists, pharmacist, infectious disease specialist and a representative from Ministry of Health) and has three meetings annually. The chair is Prof. Ivana Ćirković.

The Serbian NAC has translated EUCAST Breakpoint Tables into serbian.

Major objectives are to:

Implement the EUCAST methodology for antimicrobial susceptibility testing both in public and private microbiology laboratories in Serbia, review yearly clinical breakpoints and assist laboratories in transitioning from CLSI to EUCAST methods and breakpoints.
Provide advice to groups conducting resistance surveillance on detection of resistance microorganisms testing and interpretation of data relevant to the type of resistance surveillance being undertaken.
Provide good practice in quality assurance in accordance with EUCAST guidelines in Serbia.
Provide educational workshops on basic and advanced aspects of susceptibility testing.
Review new agent development data regarding those items impacting the selection of antimicrobial susceptibility testing breakpoint criteria for clinical practice.

Slovak Republic. The Slovak "National Antimicrobial Susceptibility Testing Committee (The Slovak NAC)" was established in the Slovak Republic in 2014, it has 3 members and it works as subcommittee of the Central commission for anti-infective treatment and antibiotics policy of the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic (UKALAP).

Members of the Slovak NAC are:

Eva Schreterova, MD, PhD, Pavol Jozef Safsrik University in KoSice

Dusan Krkoska, MD, PhD, MBA, University Hospital of Martin

Milan NikS, MD, CSc., Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava

Nominee to EUCAST General Committee for the Slovak Republic is:

Milan Niks, MD, CSc., Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic, Bratislava

South Africa. South Africa

South African Society of Clinical Microbiology (SASCM) has established a National Antimicrobial Committee (NAC) on 20 February 2014. The subcommittee will serve the interest of the public and private sectors in the field of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. The committee has eight members and the chair is Professor Olga Perovic. Members were nominated primarily on their expertise in the field of microbiology.

Spain. Spanish NAC

In 2012, the Spanish Society of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology (SEIMC, http://www.seimc.org/) created the National Antibiogram Committee, COESANT, in accordance with recommendations by EUCAST. The objective of COESANT is to implement EUCAST criteria in clinical practice and to collaborate with EUCAST. Among other activities, COESANT organizes training in the use of EUCAST breakpoints, and promotes studies on antimicrobial susceptibility and the rational use of antibiotics. COESANT is a multidisciplinary group that includes clinical microbiologists, experts in infectious diseases, clinical pharmacologists, and members from official institutions. It is financed by the SEIMC, although it may also receive support from official institutions. The members of COESANT are obliged to make a yearly declaration of conflict of interests.

Sweden. Swedish Reference Group for Antibiotics (SRGA)

The Swedish Reference Group of Antibiotics (SRGA; in Swedish Referensgruppen för Antibiotikafrågor, RAF), was formed in 1976 as a breakpoint committee. In 1986 a subcommittee on methodology and quality assurance was formed (SRGA-M), and SRGA took on more antibiotic policy issues. The first chairman of SRGA was Lars-Olof Kallings and of SRGA-M Gunnar Kahlmeter. The number of committee members in the respective groups varied but was typically 10 in each group. SRGA consisted of specialists in clinical microbiology, infectious diseases, pediatrics, clinical pharmacology, otorhinolaryngology and later also primary care medicine. Both groups are still active. A national website is available.

Switzerland.

The Swiss NAC (SAC) was established in 2013 to facilitate the implementation of EUCAST guidelines in Swiss medical microbiology laboratories. The SAC consists of medical microbiologists, clinical laboratory scientists, and other experts in fields of clinical microbiology, with Dr. Stefano Mancini (University of Zurich) serving as the current coordinator. The SAC is a subcommittee of the Coordination Commission for Clinical Microbiology (CCCM), and its activities are supported by the Swiss Society for Microbiology (SSM). For more information, visit the SAC’s website: swissmicrobiology.ch/en/sections/clinical-microbiology/swiss-antibiotic-committee-sac.

The SAC’s primary tasks include:

• Offering guidelines, guidance, and warnings on issues related to antimicrobial susceptibility testing, including interpreting EUCAST guidelines, implementing methods, and certifying processes.

• Representing Switzerland within EUCAST.

• Publishing alerts on relevant issues regarding antibiograms.

• Providing guidance upon request.

The People´s Republic of China - see China

Türkiye. The Turkish Working Group on Standardization of Antimicrobial Susceptibility Tests (ADTS) was established in 1994 under the auspices of Turkish Society of Microbiology (TMC). It is composed of ten members, including clinical microbiology and infectious diseases specialists. ADTS aims to facilitate the nationwide standardization of AST methods. It organizes meetings under the name "Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Days" once every two years. Starting from 2013, ADTS has been organizing workshops to introduce the EUCAST methodology to Turkish microbiologists. All EUCAST documents have been translated to Turkish by ADTS since 2014 which are published on the TMC website. By the end of 2015, more than half of the Turkish laboratories have already implemented the EUCAST methodology.

The website of the Turkish NAC is Turkish Working Group on Standardization of Antimicrobial.

Ukrainian NAC (UCAST). The National AST Committee for the Ukraine (UCAST) was established in late 2015 by experts in antimicrobial susceptibility testing and new drug research under the auspices of the Ukrainian Association of Infection Control and Antimicrobial Resistance (UAICAR) for Antimicrobials to provide expert advice and further the cause of skill development in the area of antimicrobial susceptibility testing. This effort was supported initially by several professional societies (The Zarifa Aliyeva International Center of Medical Science, Ukrainian Society of Epidemiology, Ukrainian Infectious Disease Society) and a broad base of scientists across the disciplines of infectious disease (adult and children), laboratory medicine (pathology and clinical microbiology), pharmacology and pharmacodynamics, antimicrobial discovery and development, resistance surveillance and monitoring, antimicrobial drug stewardship, and the epidemiology of infections. Currently the Ukrainian Group on Antimicrobial Resistance (UGAR) is working on the development and implementation of new regulations that will be approved by the Ministry of Health Care and used in Ukraine as a mandatory protocol. As a basis for this protocol the EUCAST standards will be taken.

Membership: The committee has 10 members (including a five member Executive Committee) that include experienced members in all key specialties (including medical microbiologists, epidemiologists, clinical laboratory and clinical scientists) and society representatives (including professional organisations/societies, antibiotic use, resistance surveillance committees and quality assurance agencies). Until 2021, the Chairman was Prof. Aidyn Salmanov. Since 2021 the committee is chaired by Roman Kolesnyk, Head of the Department of Antibiotic Resistance and Infection Control of the State Enterprise, Center of Public Health of the Ministry of Health of Ukraine.

Members of the Executive Committee are Ada Rudenko, MD Prof., Nina Vrunchanu, MD Prof., Mykhaylo Andreychin, MD Prof, Muzyka Victor, Prof, Veterinary Medicine.

Organization

National Antimicrobial Susceptibilty Testing Committees (NACs)

Sitemap

Search

Contact us

Visiting Address