Antibiotic resistance: Key facts

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance presents a critical global threat to health, food security, and development, driven by the misuse of antibiotics in humans and animals. This resistance renders common bacterial infections, such as pneumonia and tuberculosis, increasingly difficult to treat, resulting in longer hospital stays, higher medical costs, and increased mortality. Addressing this escalating crisis requires urgent behavioural changes in antibiotic prescription and usage, coupled with enhanced infection prevention measures like vaccination and hygiene. Comprehensive action is imperative across all societal levels, engaging individuals, policymakers, health professionals, the healthcare industry, and the agriculture sector through responsible antibiotic use, improved surveillance, and investment in novel treatments. The World Health Organization and the United Nations have established global action plans and initiatives, including surveillance systems, research partnerships, and interagency coordination, to combat this pervasive challenge and avert a “post-antibiotic era.” – AI-generated abstract.