Since their discovery a century ago, antimicrobial medicines, from antibiotics to antivirals, have significantly extended average life expectancy. Every day, these essential medicines save millions of lives, until they don’t.
AMR occurs when microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines. As a result of drug resistance, antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, disability and death, according to the UN’s World Health Organization (WHO).
Similar to COVID-19, drug-resistant infections know no borders, and no one is immune. But, the incidence is higher in low to middle-income countries.