Antimicrobial resistance, "a global health emergency"

The World Health Organization has issued a new warning about antimicrobial resistance (AMR), an accelerating phenomenon that risks undoing nearly a century of medical innovation. Infections that were once easy to treat are becoming increasingly difficult to control, amid the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, which are encouraging pathogens to adapt, according to a warning cited by Xinhua news agency. Saia Ma'u Piukala, WHO regional director for the Western Pacific, emphasizes that antimicrobials - discovered almost 100 years ago - have revolutionized modern medicine, making possible complex surgeries, safe treatments for bacterial infections and the management of chronic diseases. "This is changing," the official warns, in a context in which bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites are rapidly evolving and becoming resistant to existing treatments. According to WHO, one in six bacterial infections globally no longer respond to standard antibiotics. In 2019, AMR was associated with nearly five million deaths, of which 1.3 million were directly caused by resistant pathogens. The situation is critical in the Western Pacific, where WHO estimates that up to 5.2 million people could die between 2020 and 2030 from drug-resistant bacterial infections. Piukala warns that "antimicrobials are precious and fragile tools - and we are in danger of losing them.” Although UN member states pledged in 2024 to reduce deaths from resistant infections by 10% by 2030, progress is uneven. In many countries, especially in rural areas, structural problems persist: lack of basic diagnostic equipment; limited access to quality antibiotics; shortages of specialized staff in hospitals; difficulties in maintaining antimicrobial stewardship programs due to delays in reporting tests. These vulnerabilities favor both the inappropriate use of antibiotics and the spread of resistant infections.

WHO emphasizes that the response to AMR must be global and coordinated. "Reducing antimicrobial resistance starts with the responsible use of antibiotics,” says Piukala, highlighting clear responsibilities: patients to take antibiotics only when recommended by a doctor; doctors to prescribe treatments judiciously; hospitals to strengthen infection control programs and diagnostic infrastructure. WHO warns that, without a rapid and coordinated response, the world risks returning to the pre-antibiotic era, in which seemingly trivial infections can once again become lethal. Antimicrobial resistance is no longer a future threat, but an ongoing health crisis, with a direct impact on mortality, health systems and global economies.