Spreading According to the World Health Organization (WHO) report on global surveillance of antibiotic resistance, difficult-to-treat bacterial diseases pose an increasing threat. The report reveals that between 2018 and 2023, antibiotic resistance increased by more than 40 percent for monitored pathogen-drug combinations, with an average annual augment of 5-15 percent.
According to data reported by more than 100 countries to the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Utilize Surveillance System (GLASS) in 2023, one in six laboratory-confirmed bacteria proved resistant to antibiotic treatment, all of which were associated with a variety of common diseases around the world.
Superbugs
For the first time in this edition of the report includes the estimated prevalence of resistance to 22 antibiotics used to treat urinary tract, gastrointestinal, blood and gonorrhea diseases. The analysis focused on eight common pathogens: Acinetobacter spp, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, non-typhoid Salmonella spp, Shigella spp, Staphylococcus aureusAND Streptococcus pneumoniae.
The results show that resistant Gram-negative bacteria pose the greatest threat. They deserve special attention Escherichia coli AND Klebsiella pneumoniaewhich are associated with bloodstream infections that can lead to sepsis, organ failure and death. “More than 40 percent E. coli and over 55 percent K. pneumonia strains around the world are now resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, which are the first-line treatment for this type of infection,” the report warns.
They join these microorganisms Salmonella AND Acinetobacterwhich also cause the development of resistance to essential drugs such as carbapenemics and fluoroquinolones. This limits therapeutic options and forces the use of last-chance antibiotics, which are often expensive and difficult to access, especially in low- and middle-income countries.
Medicine is left behind
“Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families around the world,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement. “We must use antibiotics responsibly and ensure everyone has access to appropriate medicines, quality-assured diagnostics and vaccines.”
Optimizing surveillance systems and obtaining accurate data is an urgent task. Although progress has been made, it is still insufficient. Between 2016 and 2023, the number of countries participating in the GLASS study quadrupled from 25 to 104. However, 48 percent did not report data in 2023, and almost half of those that did did not have sufficient infrastructure to generate reliable data.
WHO warns that tackling the problem must be a priority in regions such as Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, where one in three recorded infections is resistant, and in Africa, where one in five suffers from the same disease.