NORM / NORM-Vet
NORM (Norwegian Surveillance System for Antimicrobial Drug Resistance) and NORM-Vet (Norwegian Monitoring Programme for Antimicrobial Resistance in the Veterinary and Food Production Sectors) are Norway’s dual surveillance programmes. Data is published as a joint annual report.
- NORM established: 1999
- Website: fhi.no
Structure
| Component | Coordinator | Key Partners |
|---|---|---|
| Human AMR (NORM) | UNN | NIPH, clinical microbiology labs nationwide |
| Animal/Food AMR (NORM-Vet) | NFSA | NVI (implementation) |
| AMU data | NIPH | NFSA (veterinary) |
Human Surveillance (NORM)
- Coordinated by University Hospital of North Norway (Department of Microbiology and Infection Control)
- Protocol-defined yearly surveys of systemic and non-systemic bacterial and fungal pathogens (25+ years running)
- High-priority resistance phenotypes submitted to designated reference laboratories
- A new national microbiology database containing all routine results is under development
- Regulated under Norwegian Infectious Disease Control Act (Smittevernloven, 1994)
Animal & Food Surveillance (NORM-Vet)
- Coordinated by NFSA and implemented by NVI
- Covers food, feed, and wild animals (broader scope than many countries)
- Systematic MRSA screening of pig populations - Norway has eliminated livestock-associated MRSA from pigs
- VetReg captures prescription data for food-producing animals, fish, and horses
Environmental Surveillance
- Not yet routine
- See Environmental AMR Surveillance
National Strategy
Norway published the National One-Health Strategy against Antimicrobial Resistance (2024–2033), providing a long-term framework for AMR surveillance development.
International Reporting
- Human AMR data → EARS-Net
- Animal/food AMR data → EFSA/ECDC (Norway participates via EEA)
- Human AMU → ESAC-Net
- Veterinary AMU → EMA (ESVAC/ESUAvet)
- WHO GLASS