The EC's AMR Action Plan included measures to ensure antimicrobials are used more appropriately in both humans and animals and measures to stimulate R&D of new antibiotics. One area that was not sufficiently covered was the environment.
Many common infections are becoming resistant to the antimicrobial medicines used to treat them, resulting in longer illnesses and more deaths. The fact that world leaders are using the UN as a forum for discussions about AMR is a promising move toward developing a coordinated global plan.
The U.S. and the EU are committed to tackling antimicrobial resistance. Their efforts share objectives around key areas for improvement, such as the stewardship of existing antimicrobials, surveillance of their use, and development of new antimicrobials.
Brazilian scientists detected drug-resistant bacteria growing off some of Rio de Janeiro's beaches, close to where it will host sailing and wind-surfing events, and in the lagoon where the rowing and canoeing events will take place.
In addition to being a public health problem, antimicrobial resistance is also a major economic concern. It crosses sectoral boundaries, because resistant bugs can pass between animals and humans, and through food, agriculture, and the environment.
The O'Neill Review aims to increase global knowledge of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and generate international consensus about the nature of the problem and the necessary steps to tackle it. A RAND Europe analysis of the potential economic costs of AMR contributed to the Review.
If left unaddressed, the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance and the rise of 'superbugs' could devastate the world economy and pose a deadly threat to humanity.
The threat of drug resistance can be tackled with the right set of actions, including the development of new antimicrobial drugs and alternative therapies to disrupt the rise in resistance. German Chancellor Merkel has emphasized the importance of a joint global action plan for addressing this growing problem.
Despite public awareness campaigns in the United States and Europe, many people persist in the mistaken belief that antibacterial drugs — like amoxicillin and azithromycin — are the best treatment for flu. And many doctors simply surrender when patients demand them, ignoring the scientific and medical truth: when treating the flu, antibacterial drugs just don't work.
Antimicrobial drugs are no longer working as they once did. The bugs that they are supposed to attack are becoming increasingly resistant. Microbes follow the same rules of evolution as we do. Through reproduction and natural selection the fittest survive.
