The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently finalized its framework for expanding federal collaboration on the review of antibacterial and antifungal pesticides. EPA developed the draft framework in coordination with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Food and Drug Administration), the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the White House Executive Office of Science and Technology Policy.
View the framework.
This framework is intended to strengthen how the U.S. Government fully considers potential impacts of the use of some pesticides on the efficacy of medically important human and animal antibacterial and antifungal drugs.
The EPA shared a related concept note for public comment in late 2023, and earlier this year the public had the opportunity to provide input on the draft framework.
This framework describes the EPA’s plan to establish the Interagency Drug and Pesticide Resistance and Efficacy Workgroup (IDPREW), which will convene to review information about a pesticide that has the potential to cause resistance to a medically important human or animal antibacterial or antifungal drug. When EPA drafts risk assessments for antibacterial and antifungal pesticides covered by the framework, it expects to consult with the IDPREW to seek input on the draft assessments. EPA and federal partners have also established a memorandum of understanding to facilitate information sharing for the IDPREW.
[Source: CDC 10 October 2024]