Antimicrobial Resistance: A Global Health Crisis
By: Daniel Said
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most pressing issues of modern medicine. AMR is where microorganisms find means to bypass antimicrobial treatment, and infections become hard to cure. Misuse and overuse of antibiotics in clinics and agriculture have fueled this rate of resistance, compromising global public health (World Health Organization: WHO). Drug-resistant infections take longer to cure, increase mortality rates, and impose higher healthcare costs. The CDC estimates that infections caused by AMR kill over 1.27 million people annually (“About Antimicrobial Resistance”).
Microorganisms develop drug resistance in several ways, ranging from drug target modification and enzymatic degradation of antibiotics to efflux pumps that expel antibiotics (Bcps, Timbrook & Perreand). Misuse of antibiotics in medical and agricultural treatment further exacerbates this issue. Many patients take antibiotics unnecessarily, and agricultural industries use them repeatedly to induce growth, transferring drug resistance genes to food and the environment (Farm Antibiotic Use). Pharmaceutical residues and contaminated water reservoirs further accelerate drug resistance by spreading drug-resistant bacteria into ecosystems (“Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and the Food Supply: Causes and How It Spreads”).
The consequences of AMR extend to financial costs. The World Bank estimates that AMR has the potential to trim 3.8% of global GDP by 2050, pushing millions into deep poverty (World Health Organization). The cure for AMR is better antibiotic stewardship, infection prevention, and the development of new treatments. Policies that reduce antibiotic misuse, fast diagnostic tools, and alternative therapies, such as phage therapy, offer potential solutions (Cui et al.). The WHO’s Global Action Plan demands international cooperation to harmonize antibiotic use and invest in research (“U.S. Actions and Events to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance”). The world is in danger of facing a post-antibiotic future, where infections can no longer be easily treated, undoing decades of medical advances.
Work Cited
- “About Antimicrobial Resistance.” Antimicrobial Resistance, 22 Apr. 2024, www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/about/index.html.
- Bcps, Tristan Timbrook PharmD Mba, and Sandra Perreand Mba. “Lifting the Medical and Economic Burden of AMR in the US.” ContagionLive, 6 Dec. 2023, www.contagionlive.com/view/lifting-the-medical-and-economic-burden-of-amr-in-the-us.
- Cui, Longzhu, et al. “A Comprehensive Review on Phage Therapy and Phage-Based Drug Development.” Antibiotics, vol. 13, no. 9, Sept. 2024, p. 870. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics13090870.
- “Antimicrobial Resistance in the Environment and the Food Supply: Causes and How It Spreads.” Antimicrobial Resistance, 1 Nov. 2024, www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/causes/environmental-food.html.
- Farm Antibiotic Use. www.saveourantibiotics.org/the-issue/antibiotic-overuse-in-livestock-farming.
- “U.S. Actions and Events to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance.” Antimicrobial Resistance, 19 Dec. 2024, www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/programs/AR-actions-events.html.
- World Health Organization. Antimicrobial Resistance: Key Facts. www.who.int/docs/default-source/antimicrobial-resistance/amr-factsheet.pdf.
- World Health Organization: WHO. Antimicrobial Resistance. 19 Sept. 2024, www.who.int/europe/news-room/fact-sheets/item/antimicrobial-resistance.
