What is antimicrobial resistance (AMR)?
Antimicrobial drugs are medicines that are active against
a range of infections, such as those caused by bacteria
(antibiotics), viruses (antivirals), fungi (antifungals) and
parasites (including antimalarials). AMR arises when the micro-organisms which cause infection (e.g. bacteria) survive exposure to a medicine that would normally kill them or stop their growth. This allows those strains that are capable of surviving exposure to a particular drug to grow and spread, due to a lack of competition from other strains.
This has led to the emergence of ‘superbugs’ such as Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) and extremely drug-resistant tuberculosis, bacteria which are difcult or impossible to treat with existing medicines.
Resistance to antimicrobials is a natural process that has been observed since the frst antibiotics were discovered and, indeed, the genes that confer drug resistance upon some strains of bacteria pre-date antibiotics by millions of years.However, AMR has increasingly become a problem in recent times because overuse of antimicrobials has increased the rate at which resistance is developing and spreading, but we lack new drugs to challenge these new superbugs. This results in us
facing a growing enemy with a largely depleted armoury. In the past, resistant infections were associated predominantly with hospitals and care settings, but over the last decade
resistant infections have been seen in the wider community too. With resistance on the rise, we stand to lose the immense ground we have gained in the last century. This includes: 1) our fght against life threatening infectious diseases such as pneumonia,
TB, HIV and malaria; 2) our battle against conditions such as cancer, where antibiotics are crucial in helping chemotherapy patients avoid and fght infection; and 3) huge advances in surgical procedures like organ transplants and caesarean sections, which have now become routine and relatively low risk, thanks to our ability to effectively stave off or treat acute infections with antibiotics.
Comments
Post a Comment