Current State of Knowledge Regarding WHO High Priority Pathogens—Resistance Mechanisms and Proposed Solutions through Candidates Such as Essential Oils: A Systematic Review

Abstract

Combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is among the 10 global health issues identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2021. While AMR is a naturally occurring process, the inappropriate use of antibiotics in different settings and legislative gaps has led to its rapid progression. As a result, AMR has grown into a serious global menace that impacts not only humans but also animals and, ultimately, the entire environment. Thus, effective prophylactic measures, as well as more potent and non-toxic antimicrobial agents, are pressingly needed. The antimicrobial activity of essential oils (EOs) is supported by consistent research in the field. Although EOs have been used for centuries, they are newcomers when it comes to managing infections in clinical settings; it is mainly because methodological settings are largely non-overlapping and there are insufficient data regarding EOs’ in vivo activity and toxicity. This review considers the concept of AMR and its main determinants, the modality by which the issue has been globally addressed and the potential of EOs as alternative or auxiliary therapy. The focus is shifted towards the pathogenesis, mechanism of resistance and activity of several EOs against the six high priority pathogens listed by WHO in 2017, for which new therapeutic solutions are pressingly required.

Evidence of potential Campylobacter jejuni zooanthroponosis in captive macaque populations

“…It has previously been shown that signals of host adaptation in the genome of Campylobacter transcend those of geographic variation [ 62, 63 ], potentially due to dissemination via global food networks. This host segregating genetic variation is the basis for attributing the source of isolates spread from reservoir hosts to humans [ 24, 64 ]. Consistent with this, it is possible that captive macaques could harbour host specialist lineages similar to those described for chickens, cattle and wild birds [ 20, 65–67 ].…”

“… Campylobacter is among the most common causes of bacterial gastroenteritis and rising antimicrobial resistance has led to it being designated a WHO priority pathogen [24]. Increasing genomic surveillance has been informative for identifying infection sources [25–28] and describing the virulence profiles of isolates.…”

Thymol, a Monoterpenoid within Polymeric Iodophor Formulations and Their Antimicrobial Activities

“…Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the most dangerous issues that humankind currently faces [1][2][3][4][5]. AMR is propelled by the emergence and spread of multi-drugresistant ESKAPE pathogens consisting of Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter spp., and Escherichia coli.…”

“…These pathogens persist in public places, hospital wards, and emergency units, causing community-and hospital-acquired nosocomial infections, respectively. However, such microorganisms contribute increasingly to higher rates of morbidity and exacerbate treatment challenges, costs, and mortality [1][2][3][4][5]. The COVID-19 pandemic intensified AMR due to the increased use of antimicrobials to treat severely ill patients with comorbidities [1][2][3][4][5][6].…”

Genetic characteristics, antimicrobial susceptibility, and virulence genes distribution of Campylobacter isolated from local dual-purpose chickens in central China

“…However, the use of antibiotics in both human treatments and animal breeding hisolated from poultry meat samples.as caused antimicrobial resistance in Campylobacter to become an increasingly serious problem, and has posed a serious threat to public health over the past two decades ( Luangtongkum et al., 2009 ). In 2017, fluoroquinolone-resistant Campylobacter was listed as one of the six high-priority antimicrobial-resistant pathogens by WHO ( Romanescu et al, 2023 ). In China, bacterial antibiotic resistance monitoring data show that Campylobacter has maintained a high level of resistance to ciprofloxacin (> 90%) in various regions, ( Li et al., 2016 ; Wang et al., 2016 ; Ju et al., 2018 ).…”