Title : Why Antimicrobial Resistance is a Global Threat and Its Impact On Everyone
Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance (AR) is an urgent and major global public health threat, killing at least 1.27 million people worldwide and associated with nearly 5 million deaths in 2019, a report from The Lancet. In the U.S., more than 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections occur each year and more than 35,000 people die each year from these infections, based on the CDC’s 2019 AR Threats report. When a bacterium such as Clostridioides difficile, which normally is not resistant to antibiotics becomes resistant, it can cause deadly diarrhea. The U.S. toll of all the threats in the report exceeds 3 million infections and 48,000 deaths.
The estimated national cost to treat infections caused by six multidrug-resistant germs frequently found in the health care settings amounts to more than $4.6 billion annually, according to a CDC study.
The CDC is concerned about the emergence and spread of new forms of resistance and rising resistant infections in the community. Community infections puts more people at risk, makes identifying and containment more difficult, and threatens the ability to protect patients in hospitals.
The AR Threats Report noted that when there is dedicated prevention and infection control efforts in the U.S., deaths from antimicrobial-resistant infections were reduced by 18% overall and by nearly 30% in hospitals. However due to pandemic, all progress was diminished and antimicrobial resistance is rapidly rising again. The pandemic pushed healthcare facilities, health departments, and communities to near breaking points in 2020, making it very hard to maintain the progress made in combating antimicrobial resistance.
Combating this challenge requires a 5 prong approach. All five approaches need to be incorporated to ensure we preserve the effectiveness of existing treatments and our ability to fight infectious diseases in the future:
1) Appropriate and responsible antibiotic usage;
2) Better hygiene practices;
3) Development of new classes of antibiotics;
4) Global collaboration among healthcare sectors; and
5) Prepared readiness - responding and anticipating trends.
These five prong approach will be addressed in more detail. Slowing antimicrobial resistance is critical to preserving the effectiveness of existing treatments and ensuring our ability to fight infectious diseases in the future:
1) Appropriate and responsible antibiotic usage
2) Better hygiene practices;
3) Development of new classes of antibiotics;
4) Global collaboration among healthcare sectors; and
5) Prepared readiness - responding and anticipating trends.
