Superbugs multiply as antibiotic resistance threatens global health crisis

As “superbugs” continue to multiply, the World Health Organization now warns that one in six bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics.

The WHO also called for more responsible use of antibiotics, according to a press release issued by the agency on Monday.

Based on data from more than 100 countries between 2016 and 2023, the health agency determined that antibiotic resistance increased in about 40% of infection samples.

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The report includes eight common bacterial pathogens: Acinetobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Salmonella spp. non-typhoidal, Shigella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

The most dangerous type of infection, according to the report, is caused by drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria, particularly E. coli and K. pneumoniae, which can lead to sepsis, organ failure and death.

As “superbugs” continue to multiply, the World Health Organization warns that one in six bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics. (iStock)

Antibiotics are part of a larger group of medications called antimicrobials, which also include antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics.

When bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial drugs, it leads to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which increases the risk of serious illness, disability or death, according to the WHO.

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“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 accompanying the report. “We must use antibiotics responsibly and ensure that everyone has access to appropriate medicines, diagnostics and quality-assured vaccines. »

“Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families around the world.”

More than a million deaths each year are directly linked to antibiotic resistance, according to a study by the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) project.

In some cases, AMR can occur naturally as germs mutate over time – but the WHO warns it can also come from “misuse and overuse” of antibiotics and other antimicrobials.

The WHO has called for more responsible use of antibiotics. (iStock)

Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel said the latest WHO report is “particularly worrying.”

“These are aggressive bacteria that are increasingly difficult to treat,” he told Fox News Digital. “Carbapenem resistance, in particular, is very difficult to treat, as is multidrug-resistant tuberculosis.”

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Carbapenems are considered “last-line antibiotics” used to treat serious, multidrug-resistant infections, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Siegel agrees that a major contributor is the overuse of antibiotics, both for common upper respiratory infections and for more serious hospital-borne bacteria that live on hospital equipment.

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“Antibiotics are also not very profitable for pharmaceutical companies to design, because they are only used when a person has an infection (episodic rather than daily use) – and so we rely mainly on antibiotics that have been around for decades,” he added.

Artificial intelligence could present a potential solution, according to Siegel.

Based on data from more than 100 countries between 2016 and 2023, the health agency determined that antibiotic resistance increased in about 40% of infection samples. (iStock)

“AI can invent new antibiotics faster and cheaper through machine learning, as well as better sanitation and more judicious use in fighting infections,” he said.

To combat this problem, WHO is calling for greater surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use through the agency’s Global Monitoring System for Antimicrobial Resistance and Use (GLASS).

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“Countries must commit to strengthening laboratory systems and generating reliable surveillance data, particularly in underserved areas, to inform treatments and policies,” the report says. “WHO calls on all countries to report high-quality data on AMR and antimicrobial use to GLASS by 2030.”