Introduction and Causes of AMR

Antimicrobial resistance is an inherent and permanent result of bacterial cells adapting to antimicrobial exposure. Antimicrobial agents are becoming less effective due to overuse in crop protection, food animal production, and medical treatments.
Infections will be increasingly difficult and expensive to treat, and outbreaks will be more challenging to manage, as the effectiveness of current antimicrobial medicines declines. By 2050, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that 10 million people would die annually due to AMR.

Principal Causes of AMR

• overprescribing of antibiotics
• Reduced duration of antimicrobial treatments or insufficient compliance.
• misuse of antibiotics in livestock and fish farming
• inadequate infection control in healthcare environments.
• inadequate sanitation and hygiene.
• new antibiotics are only occasionally discovered.

Implementing a One Health strategy is essential to stopping the spread of resistance since AMR genes are extremely promiscuous and spread across people, animals, plants, and the environment.