Tuberculosis and the fight against Antimicrobial Resistance
Overview
Why pay attention to antimicrobial resistance (AMR)?
Antimicrobial agents, such as antibiotics, are essential to treat human and animal infectious diseases. But bacteria, and other microorganisms, have protective mechanisms that will help them develop resistance to antimicrobials, meaning that the antimicrobial drug will be less effective.
Development of resistance happens especially when the microbes are frequently exposed to antimicrobials. Therefore, all unnecessary and inappropriate use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials increases the risk that resistance will develop and spread. Unnecessary use happens, for example, when antibiotics are used to treat viral infections, such as the common cold or flu, or as a growth promoter in agriculture. It also happens when antibiotic courses are regularly interrupted.
As a result, the world is running out of effective antibiotics to treat infectious diseases, and unless appropriate action is taken, decades of progress in health and medicine risk being undone. AMR not only costs a lot of money, but also generates a lot of suffering.
In May 2015, the World Health Assembly (WHA) endorsed a global action plan on AMR and urged all Member States to develop national action plans. WHA72 (May 2019) called for an accelerated implementation.
