AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines.
Misuse and overuse of antimicrobials (antibiotics) are the main drivers in the development of drug-resistant pathogens.
The rate of resistance to ciprofloxacin, for example, an antibiotic commonly used to treat urinary tract infections, varied from 8.4% to 92.9% in reporting countries.
Poor sanitation and unclean drinking water are factors in the spread of microbes that are resistant to antimicrobials.
The WHO declared AMR to be one of the top ten health threats to humanity.
According to the WHO, the clinical pipeline has no new effective antimicrobials at this time.
The emergence of resistance to new ‘last resort’ TB drugs to treat drug-resistant TB poses a major threat.
Source: WHO
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