Superbugs and failing drugs

Bacteria that develop resistance to antibiotic drugs – superbugs – pose a major global health threat to humanity. In a concerted effort to stave off this threat, several global programmes have been established and numerous new research initiatives are being carried out. Whether they are successful is yet to be seen. International Hospital reports.
Antimicrobial or antibiotic resistance is a major emerging global health threat which continues to escalate around the world. In the EU it is responsible for around 33,000 deaths each year according to the European Commission [1] and is estimated to cost the EU EUR 1.5 billion per year in healthcare costs and productivity losses.
In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that more than 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections occur in the country each year, and more than 35,000 people die as a result [2].
In the CDC’s 2019 Antimicrobial Resistance Threats Report, Robert R. Redfield, M.D., Director of the CDC, emphasises that we should stop referring to a coming post-antibiotic era. “It’s already here,” he says. “You and I are living in a time when some miracle drugs no longer perform miracles and families are being ripped apart by a microscopic enemy. The time for action is now and we can be part of the solution.”
So, what exactly is antimicrobial resistance (AMR)? Simply put, antimicrobial resistance occurs when microorganisms – such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, protozoa and helminths (worm-like parasites) – mutate or develop a resistance gene when they are exposed to antimicrobial drugs, such as antibiotics, antifungals, antivirals, antimalarials, and antihelminthics. As a result, the drugs become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of morbidity and mortality as well as the spread of the disease to others.
The issue is of such global importance that a political declaration was endorsed by Heads of State at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September 2016 signalling the world’s commitment to taking a broad, coordinated approach to address the root causes of antimicrobial resistance across multiple sectors, especially human health, animal health and agriculture.
In 2015, the World Health Organization (WHO) established the Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) [3]. The system calls on countries to monitor and report on antibiotic resistance. The WHO noted in a report published June 1 this year, that in the past three years, participation has grown exponentially. GLASS now aggregates data from more than 64,000 surveillance sites with more than 2 million patients enrolled from 66 countries across the world. In 2018 the number of surveillance sites was 729 across 22 countries.
Hanan Balkhy, Assistant Director-General for antimicrobial resistance at WHO, explained: “The enormous expansion of countries, facilities and patients covered by the new AMR surveillance system allows us to better document the emerging public health threat of AMR.”
On the back of this data, the Organization notes that high rates of resistance among antimicrobials frequently used to treat common infections, such as urinary tract infections or some forms of diarrhoea, indicate that the world is running out of effective ways to tackle these diseases. For instance, the rate of resistance to ciprofloxacin, an antimicrobial frequently used to treat urinary tract infections, varied from 8.4% to 92.9% in 33 reporting countries.
In addition, the WHO expressed concern that the trend will further be fuelled by the inappropriate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic. The Organization points out that evidence shows that only a small proportion of COVID-19 patients need antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections and, as such, has issued guidance [4] not to provide antibiotic therapy or prophylaxis to patients with mild COVID-19 or to patients with suspected or confirmed moderate COVID-19 illness unless there is a clinical indication to do so.
Solutions
What can be done to counter AMR? Although antimicrobial resistance occurs naturally over time, usually through genetic changes, there are a number of countermeasures. Primarily, healthcare practitioners should reduce the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials which are accelerating AMR. The WHO notes, for example, that in many places, antibiotics are overused and misused in people and animals, and often given without professional oversight. Examples of misuse include when they are taken by people with viral infections like colds and flu, and when they are given as growth promoters in animals or used to prevent diseases in healthy animals.

CDC’s 2019 Antimicrobial Resistant Threats Report

The CDC’s 2019 AR Threats Report lists 18 antibiotic-resistant bacteria and fungi in three categories based on the level of concern to human health – urgent, serious, and concerning. The ‘urgent’ list includes the following five threats:
Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter
Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter cause pneumonia and wound, bloodstream, and urinary tract infections. Nearly all these infections happen in patients who recently received care in a healthcare facility. They are estimated to have caused 700 deaths in the US in 2017.
Candida auris
C. auris is an emerging multidrug-resistant yeast. It can cause severe infections and spreads easily between hospitalized patients and nursing home residents.
Clostridioides difficile
C. difficile causes life-threatening diarrhoea and colitis (an inflammation of the colon), mostly in people who have had both recent medical care and antibiotics. Estimated death per year in the US: 12,800.
Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE)
CRE are a major concern for patients in healthcare facilities. Some Enterobacteriaceae are resistant to nearly all antibiotics, leaving more toxic or less effective treatment options. Estimated deaths in the US in 2017: 1,100.
Drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae
N. gonorrhoeae causes the sexually transmitted disease gonorrhoeae that can result in life-threatening ectopic pregnancy and infertility, and can increase the risk of getting and giving HIV.
See the report for the complete list. https://www.cdc.gov/drugresistance/pdf/threats-report/2019-ar-threats-report-508.pdf