What is ‘Antimicrobial Resistance’?

All around the world, bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are changing and starting not to respond to the medicines used to treat the infections they cause. This antimicrobial resistance emerges naturally, usually through genetic changes. However, the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials have accelerated the development of antimicrobial resistance, as has a lack of clean water and sanitation and inadequate infection prevention and control. This makes infections harder to treat, which increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.

The rise of drug-resistant pathogens threatens to undo more than a century’s work of health progress and undermine the very foundations of modern medicine. For example, bacterial infections resistant to antibiotics could make vital medical procedures like organ transplants, joint replacements, cancer care, and care of preterm infants too dangerous to perform. AMR can affect anyone, of any age, in any country.

Antimicrobial resistance also affects and is affected by animals and the environment. The use of antimicrobials in animal health is driven by the large and growing burden of animal diseases, the increasing scale of animal production, and underinvestment in veterinary services and animal health. Reducing the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in animals must first address these underlying issues.