Post

Lawmakers want NARMS budget doubled

Three U.S. Senators are asking the White House to nearly double the budget for the National Antimicrobial Resistance Monitoring System (NARMS) in fiscal year 2016, according to Politico.com.

The request by Democrats Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Dianne Feinstein of California and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York comes days after President Obama established a task force, by executive order, to come up with a five-year strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance.  The lawmakers says the important data from the NARMS system allows the CDC, FDA and the USDA “to accelerate their response to emerging public health threats.” They pointed to the role of NARMS in linking an outbreak of salmonella to Foster Farms chicken in California.