Increasing Antimicrobial Resistance ‘Undermines Modern Medicine’

A WHO report describes high levels of resistance in bacteria that cause life-threatening bloodstream infections. The report is based on data from 87 countries in 2020. High levels above 50% of resistance were reported in bacteria frequently causing bloodstream infections in hospitals, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter spp. These infections require treatment with last-resort antibiotics, such as carbapenems, but 8% of bloodstream infections caused by Klebsiella pneumoniae were reported as resistant to carbapenems, increasing the risk for death due to unmanageable infections. While most resistance trends remained stable during the past 4 years, bloodstream infections due to resistant E. coli and Salmonella spp. and resistant gonorrhea infections increased by at least 15% compared with 2017. “Antimicrobial resistance undermines modern medicine and puts millions of lives at risk,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, PhD, MSc, WHO Director-General, said in a statement.