Antimicrobial Resistance or Drug-Resistant Pathogens, Leading Cause of Death Globally: New Study

Antimicrobial resistance or drug-resistant pathogens are considered to be the leading cause of death globally, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet. The study said treatment-resistant infections caused 1.27 million deaths in 2019, an indication that pathogens have continued to resist modern antimicrobials. 

Pathogens Continue to Resist Modern Antimicrobials

The invention of modern antimicrobials, also known as medicines, has been widely used over the past several decades, but recent studies show that pathogens have continued to be resistant against these medicines. Researchers of the The Lancet Journal antimicrobial study used various data worldwide and recorded 64 AMR-related deaths per 100,000 people due to treatment-resistant bacterial infections and 16.4 direct deaths per 100,000 people caused by the infection itself.

The researchers of the study noted that the mortality rate is high in areas or regions with fewer healthcare resources, including medical facilities, personnel, and equipment. Considering these factors, the recorded deaths was highest in western sub-Saharan Africa and the lowest in Australia and its surrounding regions.

Also read: Antimicrobial Peptides May Help Combat Antibiotic Resistance

Study Findings Based on Six Components

The researchers based their study with the following components below:

• Number of deaths where infection played a role
• Proportion of infectious deaths attributable to a given infectious syndrome
• Proportion of infectious deaths attributable to a given infectious syndrome
• Proportion of infection syndrome deaths attributable to a given pathogen
• The excess risk of death or duration of an infection associated with the resistance

The study was able to identify six leading pathogens for deaths associated with antimicrobial resistance: Escherichia coli, followed by Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa.

Previous Reports on Antimicrobial Resistance

Knowledge of antimicrobial resistance had its roots over previous years, especially when the World Health Organization (WHO) published a report on April 30, 2014, concluding that antibiotics are failing worldwide against infections with high resistance rates against common microbes which causes blood and wound infection, urinary tract infection, diarrhea, pneumonia, and tuberculosis.

The WHO also added there is an increasing drug resistance against bacteria responsible for salmonella and gonorrhea; and increasing drug resistance amongst non-bacterial agents that causes HIV and malaria. Overall, the WHO report said pathogens which have resistance to two classes of antibiotics, beta-lactams and fluoroquinolones, were responsible to more than 70% drug resistance-related deaths. Beta-lactams and fluoroquinolones are the preferred first line of defense for a majority of bacterial infections, the WHO says.

Prior to the publication of The Lancet journal study, a WHO report on November 17, 2021 considered antimicrobial resistance as a "global health and development threat" and one of the top 10 global public health threats against humans. Due to this threat, the WHO requires the immediate multi-sectoral action, including a health directive for a clean water, sanitation, and infection control and prevention programs. The report also put emphasis on the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials are one of the main causes in the development of drug-resistant pathogens.

In spite of the AMR awareness, the researchers of the Lancet journal study consider their findings to be the first comprehensive assessment of the global burden of AMR, which can be a baseline for succeeding studies on antimicrobial resistance.

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