Loading…
Antimicrobial resistance is a phenomenon where pathogens, such as bacteria, evolve to resist the effects of bactericidal drugs. When a pathogen becomes resistant to multiple categories of drugs, typically three or more clinically significant types, it is referred to as multidrug resistance (MDR). This issue of Antimicrobial resistance (AMR / AR) is increasingly becoming a global health problem, especially in developing countries. For example, bacterial AMR was responsible for 1.27 million and 1.14 million deaths in 2019 and 2021, respectively, with sub-Saharan Africa recording the highest rates. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR/AR) is currently one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Based on predictive statistical models, there were an estimated 4.95 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR in 2019. Regionally, the age-independent mortality rate due to resistance is highest in West sub-Saharan Africa, with 27.3 deaths per 100,000, and lowest in Australasia, with 6.5 deaths per 100,000. By 2050, it is estimated that 10 million people will die annually from antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. The six leading pathogens for resistance-related deaths (Escherichia coli, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa) were responsible for 929,000 deaths attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR/AR) and 3.57 million AMR-associated deaths in 2019 (1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6).
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is considered by the World Health Organization as one of the top ten threats to human health. Therefore, it has prioritized the research and development of innovative antibiotics. They have listed various antibiotic-resistant microorganisms that pose the greatest threat to human health. In 2019, the estimation was that 1.27 million people died directly due to AMR, while an additional 4.95 million people succumbed to drug-resistant infections (7, 8, 9, 10, 11).
Due to antimicrobial resistance, there is an urgent medical need for novel bioactive compounds. Genome-based prioritization of microbial strains, early identification of compounds for dereplication (12, 13), and heterologous expression of uncharacterized biosynthetic gene clusters (14) are part of the modern toolkit for isolating natural products.
There are several different drivers and sources of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), including:
Antibiotics also exert selective pressure on microbial communities in the gut, leading to antimicrobial resistance. Antibiotic resistance genes that are clinically significant are globally associated with a specific group of taxa in the gut microbiome (20, 21, 22). When germs become resistant to drugs, it makes everyday infections, surgeries, and treatments like chemotherapy and organ transplants much riskier (23).
(1)
(2)
(3)
(4)
(5)
(6)
(7)
(8) World Health Organization. 2021. 10 global health issues to track in 2021. Available at https://www.who.int/news-room/spotlight/10-global-health-issues-to-track-in-2021)
(9) WHO Country Office for India, in collaboration with the Department of Biotechnology, Government of India. Indian Priority Pathogen List. Available at: https://dbtindia.gov.in/sites/default/files/IPPL_final.pdf; 2021
(10)
(11) WHO updates list of drug-resistant bacteria most threatening to human health [Internet]. Available at: https://www.who.int/news/item/17-05-2024-who-updates-list-of-drug-resistant-bacteriamost-threatening-to-human-health. Accessed January 17, 2025.
(12)
(13)
(14)
(15)
(16)
(17)
(18)
(19)
(20)
(21)
(22)
(23)
see also:
Antibiotics & Gut microbiota
Antibiotic resistance
Bacterial enteric infections
Bacterial multidrug resistance (MDR)
Comprehensive Antibiotic Resistance Database (CARD)
Predation