Antibiotic Resistance: Current Trends and Prevention

Author(s):Dr. Sree L

Received: 2023-05-04 Accepted: 2023-06-06 Published: 2023-06-25

Abstract

Background: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the leading global public-health threats of the twenty-first century, undermining the treatment of common infections and the safety of routine medical procedures. This review synthesises current epidemiological evidence on the trends, distribution, and drivers of antibiotic resistance, and appraises the principal strategies for its prevention. Methods: A structured narrative review and secondary synthesis of publicly available surveillance datasets and peer-reviewed literature (2015–2026) was performed, drawing on the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS), the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project. Results: In 2021, bacterial AMR was directly responsible for an estimated 1.14 million deaths and associated with 4.71 million deaths worldwide; on current trajectories, 39 million cumulative deaths are forecast between 2025 and 2050. In 2023, approximately one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections were resistant to first-line antibiotics, and resistance rose in more than 40% of monitored pathogen–antibiotic combinations between 2018 and 2023. The burden is greatest in low- and middle-income countries and is shifting increasingly toward older adults, with carbapenem resistance among Gram-negative bacteria of particular concern. Conclusion: Coordinated “One Health” action—combining antimicrobial stewardship, infection prevention and control, vaccination, strengthened surveillance, and investment in new antibiotics—is essential and demonstrably effective. Sustained political and financial commitment is required to avert a preventable global health and economic catastrophe.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; antibiotic resistance; surveillance; antimicrobial stewardship; One Health; infection prevention; global health

DOI: 10.5281/zenodo.21893453

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