Antimicrobial drug resistance and infection prevention/control: lessons from tuberculosis

Abstract

Antimicrobial drug resistance (AMR) is increasing rapidly worldwide, causing an estimated 700,000 deaths annually over the past decade, en route to becoming the leading global threat to public health by 2050 with an estimated 10 million deaths per year (more than heart disease, cancer, and stroke), while reducing global wealth by US$100 trillion. Yet AMR has not received the attention and action required to change this trajectory. Appropriate infection prevention and control (IPC) measures are needed to prevent transmission of infections to healthcare workers (HCWs), other patients, families, and the general public. In this review, we discuss a notable case study of AMR: highly drug-resistant tuberculosis (TB) has emerged repeatedly over the past 70 years as new drugs have been introduced, leading to new diagnostics, therapeutics, funding, public health strategies, and, in high-income countries, effective IPC measures that curtailed transmission. We review current efforts to control and prevent AMR using the example of drug-resistant tuberculosis to highlight important themes including laboratory systems, surveillance, control and prevention of healthcare-associated infections (especially among HCWs), better coordination across disciplines and diseases, and powerful advocacy/social change initiatives grounded in social and behavioral sciences. These strategies are the foundation of an effective response to the AMR threat to public health.

Bacterial etiologies, antimicrobial susceptibility pattern and associated factors among patients suspected sterile body site infections at Debre Markos Comprehensive Specialized Hospital, Northwest Ethiopia

“…One of the most urgent public health problems facing the world today is antibiotic resistance. It is typically associated with higher medical costs, longer hospital stays, and more mortality ( 1 , 2 ). Because of insufficient policy implementation for the prevention and control of drug resistance and laboratory infrastructure inadequacy for obtaining samples and identifying the particular agent, the situation simply gets worse.…”

“…It was more challenging in those settings since it was necessary to collect samples from invasive locations and confirm the agents for diseases including meningitis, peritonitis, septic arthritis, and pleural empyema ( 3–8 ). These circumstances force medical professional to treat patients empirically, which exacerbates the problem of drug resistance already facing public health ( 1 , 2 ).…”

Biochemometry identifies ostruthin as pluripotent antimicrobial and anthelmintic agent from masterwort

“…Recent developments in drug discovery show that the number of bacterial species with antibiotic resistance has surpassed the number of new antibiotics introduced. 1 With the current pace it is predicted that AMR will cause over 10 million deaths per year by 2050 and is the leading threat to human health. 2 In 2017, the World Health Organization (WHO) released a priority list of drug-resistant microorganisms that pose a major health threat and should be the focus of research and development for new antibiotics.…”

Effects of antimicrobial agents on the processing and performance properties of rubber material formulations with no cytotoxicity

“…[4] Many infectious disorders are still challenging to treat, even though numerous antimicrobial drugs, such as doxycycline D1 and cephalexin D2, have been created to kill or inhibit bacteria. [5] Early on, antimicrobial polymers were found, and both academic and commercial research has given them considerable attention. [6][7][8] Three important sectors for applied antimicrobials are the medical, food, and textile industries.…”