Iceland
Iceland has a nationwide AMR surveillance system, with the first annual report published in 2012. Given its small population, Iceland’s surveillance benefits from relatively tight coordination between a small number of institutions.
Surveillance Programme
Icelandic AMR-AMU Report - Annual Report on Antimicrobial Use and Antimicrobial Resistance in Humans and Animals in Iceland
Key Entities
| Entity | Abbreviation | Type | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| Directorate of Health - Centre for Health Security | - | Government agency | Human clinical AMR data, AMU coordination |
| Icelandic Food and Veterinary Authority | MAST | Government agency | Animal AMR/AMU data |
Additional contributors:
- Landspitali University Hospital - provides human AMR data and hospital AMU data
- Icelandic Medicines Agency - provides antimicrobial sales data
- University of Iceland Experimental Center for Pathology - animal AMR data
- Environment Agency of Iceland - environmental data
Human AMR Surveillance
- Data collected by the Chief Epidemiologist at the Centre for Health Security and Communicable Disease Control
- Nationwide system covering clinical microbiology data
Animal and Food AMR Surveillance
- MAST is the main authority for animal health, food safety, and veterinary medicines
- Monitoring focuses on indicator and zoonotic bacteria
- Regular MRSA screenings of pigs (2014/2015, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2025)
- Surveys tracking ESBL/AmpC-producing E. coli and multidrug-resistant strains
AMU Monitoring
- Human: Medicines prescription database hosted by the Directorate of Health (outpatient prescriptions). Hospital AMU tracked through wholesale data from the Icelandic Medicines Agency
- Animal: Sales data from the Icelandic Medicines Agency + Heilsa central veterinary database (currently covers cattle, horses, and some sheep; new system under development for all species)
- Regulated under the Act on Health Security and Communicable Diseases (No. 19/1997)
Recent development
Iceland’s National Action Plan on AMR (2025–2029) outlines a coordinated five-year strategy to preserve antibiotic effectiveness and limit resistant bacteria spread.