Thailand Antimicrobial Resistance Containment and Prevention Program

• Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been recognised as an urgent global health threat.
• There are many established AMR Containment and Prevention (AMRCP) action plans in many countries.
• Most of the AMRCP action plans are not systematically executed.
• The Thailand AMRCP Program has been established since 2012.
• It illustrates how to develop, co-ordinate and implement systematic operational actions for AMRCP at a national level.

The Thailand Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) Containment and Prevention Program was founded to develop, co-ordinate and implement AMR Containment and Prevention (AMRCP) operational actions in Thailand following the ‘One Health’ approach. This article summarises the ten AMRCP operational actions initiated during the initial phase of the programme from 2012 to 2016: estimating the national AMR burden; establishing the dynamics of AMR chains to understand how AMR in Thailand develops and spreads; developing a national AMRCP infrastructure; developing laboratory and information technology systems for surveillance of AMR, antibiotic use and hospital-acquired infections; regulating the use and distribution of antibiotics in humans and food animals; generating local evidence for promoting responsible use of antibiotics and efficient practices for infection prevention and control; designing AMRCP campaigns; creating an AMRCP package; implementing the AMRCP package in selected pilot communities; and conducting research and development on diagnostics, therapy and prevention of antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections. The programme's core campaign is to stop producing AMR by promoting responsible use of antibiotics, and to stop the acquisition and transmission of AMR by promoting good sanitation and hygiene as well as compliance with infection control and prevention practices.