BASIL: Applications and benefits of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Resistance Surveillance Project – Legacy and future

Parcell, Benjamin J., Horner, Carolyne, Reynolds, Rosy, Allen, Michael, Longshaw, Christopher, Livermore, David M. and MacGowan, Alasdair P. (2025) BASIL: Applications and benefits of the British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Resistance Surveillance Project – Legacy and future. Journal of Antimicrobial Chemotherapy. ISSN 0305-7453 (In Press)

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Abstract

The British Society for Antimicrobial Chemotherapy Resistance Surveillance Project ran from 1999 to 2019, amassing an unrivalled collection of close to 100,000 bacterial isolates from bloodstream and lower respiratory tract infections in the UK and Ireland. It was initiated in response to increasing antimicrobial resistance and was established to supplement existing surveillance schemes and enhance understanding of the epidemiology of resistance. The main aim was the study of resistance epidemiology - estimating species prevalence within collection groups together with levels of antibacterial resistance, presented in terms of MICs and percentage susceptibility for each species/antibiotic combination tested. Critical resistance mechanisms were characterised. Generated data were explored to monitor and identify factors shaping resistance trends, and to profile antibacterial resistance patterns in specific geographies, settings and patient populations. Open access results were available to the public. The release of data and/or bacterial isolates to researchers led to an additional rich repository of published peer-reviewed papers. Additionally, the promotion of the BSAC standardised susceptibility testing method resulted in greater uniformity of antimicrobial susceptibility testing in hospital microbiology laboratories. Over time, public health laboratories’ surveillance systems and isolate collections became increasingly comprehensive, and the BSAC Project ceased in 2019. This invaluable collection is now housed in the University of Dundee, in collaboration with the University of St Andrews. We highlight the collection’s unique timeliness, and how the BSAC Project contributed, whilst operational, to key interventions for infection prevention and control, public health and antimicrobial stewardship. We demonstrate the utility and benefits of the Project and outline the collection’s potential future applications as an important bioresource. It comprises well-defined bacterial isolates – many now sequenced – with MIC data and demographic information. This lasting legacy is available to researchers via the Tayside Biorepository and custodian contacts.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	sdg 3 - good health and well-being ,/dk/atira/pure/sustainabledevelopmentgoals/good_health_and_well_being
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
UEA Research Groups:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Research Groups > Epidemiology and Public Health
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	10 Oct 2025 14:32
Last Modified:	14 Oct 2025 14:33
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/100696
DOI:

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