Definition: Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when microorganisms, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites, evolve the ability to withstand the effects of antimicrobial drugs designed to kill or inhibit them. This renders standard treatments ineffective, making infections harder or impossible to treat, leading to prolonged illness, higher medical costs, and increased mortality.
AMR is a natural biological phenomenon driven by genetic mutations in microorganisms, which allow them to survive exposure to drugs designed to kill or inhibit their growth. However, the widespread and often inappropriate use of antimicrobials in human health, animal husbandry, and agriculture significantly accelerates this evolutionary process. Factors contributing to AMR include prescribing antibiotics for viral infections, patients not completing full courses of treatment, overuse of antibiotics in livestock to promote growth, and inadequate sanitation and infection prevention and control practices in healthcare facilities and communities. This creates a selective pressure, favoring the survival and proliferation of resistant strains.
The public health implications of AMR are profound, threatening to reverse decades of progress in combating infectious diseases. Infections that were once easily treatable, such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and foodborne illnesses, are becoming difficult or impossible to cure, leading to prolonged suffering, disability, and death. AMR also undermines the effectiveness of critical medical procedures like surgery, organ transplantation, and cancer chemotherapy, which rely on effective antimicrobials to prevent and treat infections. Economically, AMR imposes a massive burden through increased healthcare expenditures, lost productivity, and potential disruptions to trade and travel, making it a critical global health and development challenge requiring urgent, coordinated action across all sectors.
Key Context:
- Antimicrobial Stewardship: Coordinated programs designed to optimize the use of antimicrobial agents to improve patient outcomes, reduce microbial resistance, and decrease the spread of infections caused by multidrug-resistant organisms.
- One Health Approach: A collaborative, multisectoral, and transdisciplinary approach—working at local, regional, national, and global levels—to achieve optimal health outcomes by recognizing the interconnection between people, animals, plants, and their shared environment, particularly relevant for addressing AMR.
- Infection Prevention and Control (IPC): Practices and procedures implemented in healthcare settings and communities to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, including resistant microbes, thereby reducing the incidence of healthcare-associated infections and the spread of AMR.