WHO sounds alarm over global surge in antibiotic resistant infections

The world is witnessing a sharp rise in antibiotic resistant infections driven by the rampant misuse of antibiotics in recent years.

The World Health Organization has recently presented a Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance report based on data on more than 23m bacterial infections from 104 countries.

As per report, the problem of anti-microbial resistance (AMR) has exacerbated in low and middle-income countries and those with dilapidated healthcare systems.

While attributing to findings deeply concerning, Dr Yvan Hutin, the director of the WHO’s department of antimicrobial resistance said, “As antibiotic resistance continues to rise, we are running out of treatment options and we are putting lives at risk, especially in countries where infection prevention and control is weak and access to diagnostics and effective medicine is already limited.”

In 2023, one in six bacterial infections were proven antibiotic resistant.

Nearly 40 percent of antibiotics have become ineffective against gut, urinary tract, common blood, and sexually transmitted infections between 2018 and 2023 as shown by the report.

In 2021, 7.7 million people fell victim and died from AMR infections. Drug resistance caused 4.71 million of deaths, with 1.14 million directly attributed.

The report also shed light on the infections caused by gram-negative bacteria. Hutin said 40% of E coli and more than 55% of Klebsiella pneumoniae are resistant to third-generation cephalosporins.

More worryingly, in the African region, the resistance has exceeded 70 percent.

According to Dr Manica Balasegaram at the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership said, these infections have reached “a critical threshold.”

If not treated with the right antibiotics, the number of AMR deaths is projected to rise blatantly, increasing by 70 percent by 2050, Dr Manica added.