Hospitals around the world have recorded an alarming rise in common antibiotic-resistant infections, with doctors saying the number of deaths caused by drug resistance will rise sharply in the coming years.
In 2023, one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections was resistant to antibiotic treatment, with more than 40% of antibiotics losing effectiveness against common blood, bowel, urinary tract and sexually transmitted infections between 2018 and 2023, the data shows.
The problem was most severe and worsening in low- and middle-income countries and those with weaker health systems, according to the World Health Organization. Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance Reportwhich collected data on more than 23 million bacterial infections from 104 countries.
“These results are deeply concerning,” said Dr. Ivan Khutin, director of WHO’s department of combating antimicrobial resistance. “As antibiotic resistance continues to rise, we are running out of treatment options and putting lives at risk, especially in countries where infection prevention and control is weak and access to diagnostics and effective medicines is already limited.”
Estimates of resistance in some countries may be skewed by health systems reporting data only from specialized hospitals that treat the most severe infections. But based on the data collected, the WHO estimates that in 2023, one in three bacterial infections in Southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean was resistant to antibiotics, and one in five in Africa.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when pathogens evolve to resist the drugs used to kill them. In 2021, 7.7 million people died from bacterial infections worldwide. Drug resistance was responsible for 4.71 million deaths, of which 1.14 million were directly related.
The report expresses serious concern about gram-negative bacteria (protected by an outer shell), such as They showed cold And Klebsiella pneumoniawhich cause some of the most severe bacterial infections that often lead to sepsis, organ failure and death.
Hutin said 40% E wand and more than 55% TO pneumonia resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, the first-choice drugs for such infections. In the WHO African region, resistance often exceeds 70%, he said.
Resistance to key second-choice antibiotics, especially carbapenems and fluoroquinolones, was also increasing among key Gram-negative bacteria such as Acinetobacter, TO pneumonia and salmonella, the report said. “These antibiotics are critical for treating severe infections, and their increasing ineffectiveness is limiting treatment options,” Hutin said.
Dr Manika Balasegaram of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership said the report adds to evidence that drug-resistant infections have reached a “critical tipping point”.
“The hardest-to-treat Gram-negative infections are now starting to outpace antibiotic development, either because the right antibiotics are not getting to the people who need them or because they are not being developed at all,” he said. “As a result, the number of deaths from AMR now expected to grow sharplyand will increase by 70% by 2050.
“It's not enough to develop new antibiotics, they need to be the right ones, ones that target the infections that have the greatest public health impact. We cannot replace antibiotics that are losing ground due to resistance, and this latest WHO report shows that the consequences of this are now finally starting to be felt.”
“Until now, the AMR narrative has rightly focused on the overuse of antibiotics, but this is not enough. To avoid a tipping point, we must now also focus on accelerating innovation and expanding their appropriate use.”
Professor Sanjib Bhakta, who works on drugs to combat AMR at University College London, said the WHO report revealed an “alarming escalation of resistance”, particularly among gram-negative bacteria.
Tackling AMR requires “tailored global action,” from strengthening surveillance and diagnostics to ensuring equitable access to narrow-spectrum antibiotics, he said. Preventing infections is also important through cleaner water, improved sanitation and hygiene, and vaccinations.
“It is important to note that new investment is needed to support multidisciplinary, ambitious research aimed at discovering new therapeutic interventions against drug-resistant bacteria,” he said.
