ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: AN INCREASINGLY GRAVE THREAT TO GLOBAL PUBLIC HEALTH

Manisha Kasbe, Ajay Bhagwat, Ashish Dhaygude*, Raj Gorad, Swapnil Auti

Antibiotics are one of the most significant discoveries of the 20th century, saving millions of lives from infectious diseases. Antibiotic use and misuse have led to the development of acquired antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in microbes. Human-tohuman contact, both within and outside of healthcare facilities, is the main way that AMR is acquired and spread. Through a variety of drug-resistance mechanisms, AMR is governed by a vast array of interrelated healthcare and agricultural factors. Unrestricted use of antimicrobials in animal feed has significantly contributed to the emergence and spread of AMR. Antimicrobial-resistant bacteria have reached an alarmingly high prevalence worldwide, posing a latent pandemic threat to global public health and needing immediate action. There are few treatment options for illnesses brought on by bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics, which leads to high morbidity and fatality rates and substantial financial costs. The lack of new, innovative antimicrobials to treat infections caused by resistant microorganisms that are lifethreatening contrasts sharply with the demand for them. There is a lack of new antimicrobials available to treat life-threatening illnesses caused by resistant microorganisms, despite high demand. To contain AMR, immediate actions include surveillance and monitoring, reducing the use of over the counter and food-animal antibiotics, providing inexpensive medications, vaccinations, and diagnostics, and enforcing legislation. If coordinated cooperation is not urgently needed within and across numerous national and international agencies, a post antibiotic future may become more likely than a 21st-century catastrophic nightmare. The causes and contributing factors to microbial resistance, as well as important tactics to counteract antimicrobial resistance, are highlighted in this narrative review.