Antimicrobial resistance occurs when germs such as bacteria and fungi develop the ability to resist drugs designed to kill them. That means the germs are not killed and can continue to grow. Resistant infections can be difficult, if not impossible, to treat.
Antimicrobial resistance is a serious global public health threat that has killed at least 1.27 million people and is responsible for nearly 5 million deaths in 2019. Every year, over 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur in the United States.
According to the CDC’s 2019 Antibiotic Resistance (AR) Threats Report, more than 35,000 people die as a result of this. When Clostridioides difficile—a bacterium that is not typically resistant but can cause deadly diarrhoea and is linked to antimicrobial use—is added to these, the total U.S. toll of all the threats in the report exceeds 3 million infections and 48,000 deaths.
Antimicrobial resistance has the potential to harm people at any age, as well as the healthcare, veterinary, and agriculture industries. As a result, it has become one of the world’s most pressing public health issues. Bacteria and fungi do not need to be antibiotic or antifungal resistant to be dangerous. Even one antibiotic resistance can cause serious problems.
As an example:
- Antimicrobial-resistant infections that necessitate the use of second- and third-line treatments can harm patients by causing serious side effects such as organ failure and prolonging care and recovery, sometimes for months.
- Many medical advances rely on the ability to fight infections with antibiotics, including joint replacements, organ transplants, cancer therapy, and the treatment of chronic diseases such as diabetes, asthma, and rheumatoid arthritis.
- In some cases, these infections have no treatment options.
If antibiotics and antifungals lose their effectiveness, we will lose the ability to treat infections and control these public health threats.
