Bacterial Antibiotic Resistance: The Most Critical Pathogens

Abstract

Antibiotics have made it possible to treat bacterial infections such as meningitis and bacteraemia that, prior to their introduction, were untreatable and consequently fatal. Unfortunately, in recent decades overuse and misuse of antibiotics as well as social and economic factors have accelerated the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, making drug treatment ineffective. Currently, at least 700,000 people worldwide die each year due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Without new and better treatments, the World Health Organization (WHO) predicts that this number could rise to 10 million by 2050, highlighting a health concern not of secondary importance. In February 2017, in light of increasing antibiotic resistance, the WHO published a list of pathogens that includes the pathogens designated by the acronym ESKAPE (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Enterobacter species) to which were given the highest “priority status” since they represent the great threat to humans. Understanding the resistance mechanisms of these bacteria is a key step in the development of new antimicrobial drugs to tackle drug-resistant bacteria. In this review, both the mode of action and the mechanisms of resistance of commonly used antimicrobials will be examined. It also discusses the current state of AMR in the most critical resistant bacteria as determined by the WHO’s global priority pathogens list.

NGS analysis of nasopharyngeal microbiota in SARS-CoV-2 positive patients during the first year of the pandemic in the Campania Region of Italy

“…Meta-transcriptomic analysis of SARS-CoV-2 patients detected 974 bacterial species with an rpm>5 in all samples. Interestingly, we noticed in a medium-high % of patients the presence of bacterial species included in the WHO global priority pathogens list (global PPL) of public health concern for antibiotic resistance [ 33 ], such as Staphylococcus aureus (98%), Klebsiella pneumoniae (80%), Streptococcus pneumoniae (52%) and Neisseria gonorrhoeae (79%); less abundant but still detectable, we also found Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19%) and Acinetobacter baumannii (16%). The most abundant, among the above mentioned, was Staphylococcus aureus ; this bacterial strain, indeed, accounted for more than the 10% of all reads associated with the species in 21 out of 89 patients.…”

Progress in Alternative Strategies to Combat Antimicrobial Resistance: Focus on Antibiotics

“…During the last ten years, resistance in ESKAPE pathogens has increased exponentially worldwide, and PDR has become widespread in clinical settings [ 31 ]. Several antibiotic combinations have been studied for treating PDR infections as there are few remaining ‘drugs of last resort’.…”

Effects of Lysine N-ζ-Methylation in Ultrashort Tetrabasic Lipopeptides (UTBLPs) on the Potentiation of Rifampicin, Novobiocin, and Niclosamide in Gram-Negative Bacteria

“…Bacterial resistance to antibiotics is a major global health problem [ 1 ]. Currently, carbapenem-resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa (CR PA ), carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (CR AB ), and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CR E ) are among the priority pathogens that pose the greatest threat to human health [ 2 , 3 ]. These Gram-negative bacteria (GNB) are frequently multidrug-resistant (MDR) and have become resistant to most antibiotics.…”