Common infections and injuries that were once easily treatable are becoming more dangerous and has the capacity to kill again. This is because many of the life-saving drugs used against infectious diseases are rapidly losing their effectiveness. The germs (i.e., bacteria, viruses, and other microbes) develop resistance to the drugs.[1] [2] The drug-resistant germs can spread and cause infection. Drug-resistant infections could result in prolonged illness, disability, and death.

For decades, antibiotics have protected us from infection following cuts or traffic injuries. Now antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is putting everyone of us at risk.[3] Even childbirth could once again become very risky; many patients, infants, and mothers would die because of infection, which were once preventable or treatable.[1] It is very important that we take actions, especially with the urgency of antimicrobial resistance that could lead humanity back to the frightening pre-antibiotic age.

In nature, disease-causing germs will undergo adaptations in response to antimicrobials present in the environment. However, when people misuse or overuse antimicrobials, the rate of change becomes faster, antimicrobial-resistant organisms become more common, and the treatment of infections becomes more difficult.

Overuse and misuse of antibiotics occur in both animals and humans. Many common diseases in humans, such as the common cold and ‘flu, are caused by viruses and do not require antibiotics. Nonetheless, many people worldwide are unnecessarily consuming antibiotics when suffering from a common cold or ‘flu. Antibiotics are also heavily used in animal agriculture worldwide. Large amounts of antibiotics are overused in animals to promote growth or prevent disease in healthy animals instead of being used only on sick ones.

We can solve the problem. We must take action now by protecting ourselves from infectious diseases and stopping the overuse of antibiotics.[4] We can protect ourselves by [1] washing our hands often, [2] drinking and using safe water, [3] preparing food safely, [4] using latrines (i.e. toilets) properly, [5] not sharing personal items, [6] getting vaccinated, [7] coughing or sneezing into our sleeve, and [8] staying home when sick. We should use antibiotics only when we have bacterial infections.    

Check out these videos about AMR: 

References

1 WHO. (2018, February 15). Antimicrobial resistance. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/en/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antimicrobial-resistance

2 CDC. (2018, September 10). About Antimicrobial Resistance | Antibiotic/Antimicrobial Resistance | CDC. Retrieved from https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/about.html

3 The Wellcome Trust. (2019, October 29). Reframing Resistance, how to communicate about antimicrobial resistance effectively. Retrieved from: https://wellcome.ac.uk/sites/default/files/reframing-resistance-report.pdf

4 O'Neill, J. (2016, March 19). Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: Final Report and Recommendations. The Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. Retrieved from https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/160525_Final paper_with cover.pdf