Findings of the WHO 2014 Report on Antibiotics Resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly serious threat to global public health. AMR develops when a microorganism (bacteria, fungus, virus or parasite) no longer responds to a drug to which it was originally sensitive. This means that standard treatments no longer work; infections are harder or impossible to control; the risk of the spread of infection to others is increased; illness and hospital stays are prolonged, with added economic and social costs; and the risk of death is greater—in some cases, twice that of patients who have infections caused by non-resistant bacteria.

The problem is so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medicine. A post-antibiotic era—in which common infections and minor injuries can kill—is a very real possibility for the 21st century.

Key Findings

Very high rates of resistance have been observed in all WHO regions in common bacteria (for example, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus) that cause common health-care associated and community-acquired infections (urinary tract infections, wound infections, bloodstream infections and pneumonia).
Increasing levels of transmitted anti-HIV drug resistance have been detected among patients starting antiretroviral treatment.
Tuberculosis: Globally, 3.6% of new TB cases and 20.2% of previously treated cases are estimated to have multidrug-resistant TB (MDR-TB), with much higher rates in Eastern Europe and central Asia.
HIV: Data collected between 2004 and 2010 in low- and middle-income countries showed increasing levels of transmitted anti-HIV drug resistance among those starting antiretroviral treatment (ART).
Resistance in systemic candidiasis: Systemic candidiasis is a common fungal infection worldwide and associated with high rates of morbidity and mortality in certain groups of patients. Although it is known that antifungal resistance imposes a substantial burden on health-care systems in industrialized countries, the global burden of antifungal-resistant Candida is unknown. Resistance to fluconazole, a common antifungal drug, varies widely by country and species. Resistance to the newest class of antifungal agents, the echinocandins, is already emerging in some countries.