Drug-Resistant Infections: The silent pandemic

Context:

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) threatens the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses, and fungi.

What is antibiotic resistance?

• Antibiotic resistance occurs when bacteria change in response to the use of these medicines.
• Bacteria, not humans or animals, become antibiotic-resistant.
• The misuse and overuse of antibiotics have the potential to contribute to the development of AMR globally.

Evolution of Bacteria.

• Exposure to antibiotics puts stress on bacteria and, like other living organisms, they defend themselves.
• This allows them to change quickly, readily obtaining the ability to make proteins and other molecules that block the antibiotic’s effect.
• However, as we use ever stronger and more diverse antibiotics, new and more powerful bacterial defense options have evolved, rendering some bacteria resistant to almost everything – the ultimate outcome being untreatable superbugs.

• Antimicrobial-resistant organisms are found in people, animals, food, plants, and the environment (in water, soil, and air).
• They can spread from person to person or between people and animals, including from food of animal origin.
• The main drivers of antimicrobial resistance include the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials; lack of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) for both humans and animals; poor infection and disease prevention and control in healthcare facilities and farms; poor access to quality, affordable medicines, vaccines and diagnostics