; and (2) examine opportunities to make such data available in near real time. 319E–3. Detecting network of antibiotic resistance regional laboratories (a) In general The Secretary, acting through the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, shall establish not less than 7 Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance and Laboratory Network sites, building upon the intramural and extramural programs and laboratories of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, to intensify, strengthen, and expand the national capacity to— (1) monitor the emergence and changes in the patterns of antibiotic-resistant bacteria; (2) describe, confirm, and, as necessary, facilitate a response to, local or regional outbreaks of resistant bacteria; (3) assess and describe antibiotic resistance patterns to inform public health and improve prevention practices; (4) obtain isolates of pathogens, and in particular, bacteria that show new or atypical patterns of resistance adversely affecting public health; (5) assist in studying the epidemiology of infections from such pathogens; (6) evaluate commonly used antibiotic susceptibility testing methods to improve the accuracy of resistance testing and reporting; (7) as necessary, develop or evaluate novel diagnostic tests capable of detecting new or emerging resistance in bacteria; (8) link data generated by regional laboratory networks under existing public health surveillance networks and relevant government agencies