Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR): Here's How Dangerous This Global Public Health Threat Is

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Antimicrobial resistance refers to a lack of sensitivity to antimicrobial medications, which are meant to treat microbe-caused diseases.

The World Health Organization considered antimicrobial resistance one of the top 10 public health threats in the world, showing the gravity of the matter.

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)

Simply stated, resisting an antimicrobial stops the supposed medication from working. Antimicrobial resistance may happen when microbes alter as time passes and do not respond to medicines.

This may result in prolonged recovery, more serious infections, higher medical expenses, adoption of riskier procedures or pricier drugs, and even possible death. As a result, the medicines end up ineffective, and the infections may persist.

Some examples of antimicrobials include the antibiotic Penicillin, antiviral Valacyclovir, antifungal Fluconazole, and anti-parasite Praziquantel.

As implied in their name, antimicrobials are designed to treat illnesses caused by microbes, which are small organisms that can go into the body. These microbes include fungi, viruses, bacteria, and parasites.

Illnesses caused by microbes may include pneumonia, strep throat, colds, food poisoning, influenza, yeast infections, athlete's foot, gonorrhea, tapeworms, and urinary tract infections.

If one has any of such illnesses caused by an organism that is resistant, supposed treatments for it may not work.

The microbes inside a person could have ended up evolving in a manner that enables them to grow and live within the body in spite of the medications meant to eradicate them.

With this, it is clear that antimicrobial resistance may threaten the effective treatment and prevention of infections caused by fungi, parasites, viruses, and bacteria, posing great health risks.

Antimicrobial resistance has been found to be fuelled by healthcare providers, broad-spectrum medications, close hospital contact, and antibiotic use in agriculture.

If antimicrobial resistance persists at its current rate, healthcare providers may eventually be unable to cure infections.

ALSO READ: Several Antibiotics Seen To Lose Effectiveness in Treating Serious Bacterial Infections Among Children Due to Antimicrobial Resistance, New Study Reveals

How AMR Happens

When a microbe enters the human body, it has five goals. These include reaching the target site, attaching to the target site, multiplying, taking nutrients from the host, and avoiding or surviving any attacks on the immune system.

Though antimicrobial medications are designed to kill most microbes, the ones that are resistant could end up surviving.

Germs have various defense strategies for resisting antimicrobials. They may limit medication uptake, change the target of the medication, stop the medication from working, or activate the medication's efflux.

Anyone who has an infection that is antimicrobial-resistant may have to try out different medications, take a higher antimicrobial dosage, take the medication for longer periods, take a mix of various medications, and experiment with treatments that are non-medication.

AMR Prevalence

Based on recent estimates, there were 1.27 million deaths in 2019 that were directly linked to drug-resistant infections all over the world. There could be as many as 10 million annual deaths by the year 2050.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also says that there are at least two million people in the US who get infected with resistant microbes.

Antimicrobial resistance may affect anyone at any age. However, those with a weaker immune system or who get frequent infections that require antimicrobial treatment have a higher risk. The more that a person gets sick, the higher the chances of having an infection that involves a resistant germ.

Preventing AMR

While AMR cannot be fully eliminated, there are some ways to limit exposure.

These steps may include adhering to prescription medication directions, not sharing or taking someone else's prescription medications, never saving old prescriptions for later, getting recommended vaccinations, and following general health practices.