Interactive visualization tools

Different interactive tools to visualize data are available within the area of antimicrobial resistance. They are designed to provide data of the user's own choice. Here we highlight a few of the tools available for this purpose.

Interactive tools can aid in the visualization and interpretation of complex datasets. They have the possibility to increase the interest and provide a different type of understanding than data presented in other forms. They can increase understanding and allow the user to view or not to view depending on the preferences set.

Interactive tools on antimicrobial resistance and utilization

The British Columbia Centre for Disease Control (BCCDC) provides treatment and diagnostic services for people with diseases of public health importance. They also investigate and explore communicable disease occurrence in British Columbia, a western province in Canada. The BCCDC has developed two interactive tools on antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial utilization in British Columbia called Antimicrobial Surveillance Dashboards.

The Antimicrobial Resistance Dashboard is a tool for visualizing antimicrobial resistance providing an interactive cross table of bacterial species, antibiotics and the level of susceptibility among the tested isolates. The Antimicrobial Utilization Dashboard is designed to provide data on antimicrobial utilization. In both dashboards, the data output can be customized by selecting year, gender, age, antibiotic, indication, prescriber type and health region. Executive summaries analyzing and highlighting trends in the data are available in both tools.

Visualize antimicrobial resistance data in Europe

The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) together with the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) have developed an interactive tool for visualization of antimicrobial resistance data in selected European countries. This interactive tool provides resistance data of two major food-borne pathogens, Salmonella spp and E. coli in a specific country or larger European regions of the user’s own choice. Resistance in food, animals or humans can be be chosen as well.

Resistance maps

To compare resistance data between different regions and countries, resistance maps can be used. Two examples of such maps are Surveillance Atlas of Infectious Diseases by ECDC and ResistanceMap by Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP). The ResistanceMap also includes antibiotic use data. Common for both these maps are that the user can select pathogens, antibiotics and compare rates of resistance between different countries.

Selected Resources