Antimicrobial resistance: A looming threat to public health and global well-being

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global issue that transcends borders and affects countries at all income levels. Various contributing factors include limited access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene for both humans and animals; inadequate infection and disease prevention and control in households, health-care facilities, and farms; restricted access to high-quality and affordable vaccines, diagnostics, and medications; insufficient awareness and knowledge; and a lack of enforcement of relevant legislation. People in low-resource settings and vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by both the causes and consequences of AMR. The identification and subsequent incorporation of antimicrobial agents into clinical medicine marked a significant milestone in 20th-century medical achievements, fundamentally transforming the management of bacterial diseases. Nevertheless, the gradual rise of antibiotic-resistant bacterial populations, stemming from the inappropriate usage, misapplication, and unconditional abuse of antibiotics, has evolved into a substantial global public health challenge. Today, different mechanisms of bacterial resistance have been reported in almost all the present antibiotics on the market. The international community has been striving to address and recognize AMR as a global alarming situation, as considered by the World Health Organization as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The unrestrained utilization of antibiotics at public and commercial levels has invigorated the evolution of multi-drug resistant microbiota across the globe, leading to an elevated mortality rate due to microbial infections. This review paper explored the inception and resistance genes, provides a comprehensive overview of global antimicrobial resistance, analyzes factors promoting its dissemination, discusses control strategies, examines control challenges, and underscores the ramifications of an inability to effectively contain antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, effectively.

Keywords

• antibiotic
• antimicrobial resistance
• gene
• poultry
• public health