The threat of antibiotic resistance is worsening. What can you do?

Geneva (dpa) – Bacteria are rapidly developing resistance to antibiotics, the World Health Organization (WHO) says, calling on people around the world to help get the problem under control. "Antimicrobial resistance is widespread and threatening the future of modern medicine," says Yvan Hutin, director of the relevant WHO department, in a warning from the body on Monday. One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections are now caused by antibiotic-resistant pathogens, the WHO said, citing an analysis based on around 23 million data points from more than 100 countries. So what can we do?  Hutin advises us to reduce the risk of infection both at home and in hospitals by frequently washing our hands and using disinfectant gel, as well as by making sure we have any vaccines recommended by our doctor. We should also not automatically expect to receive antibiotics whenever we have a fever. "Trust your doctor," Hutin says. "If you have a fever and the cause is a viral infection then if you do not receive an antibiotic that is completely ok and that means the doctor has taken good care of you." If we do not get antibiotic resistance under control, then even routine operations could become life-threatening again, says Mathias W. Pletz, head of hospital hygiene at Jena University Hospital in Germany. Women undergoing caesarean sections would be particular in danger. "If antibiotic consumption does not fall globally, there is a risk of a return to a 'pre-antibiotic era'," Pletz says. "Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families worldwide," says Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. "Our future also depends on strengthening systems to prevent, diagnose and treat infections and on innovating with next-generation antibiotics and rapid point-of-care molecular tests." The WHO quantified the problem for the first time in relation to 22 antibiotics commonly used to treat infections of the urinary tract, the gastrointestinal tract or the bloodstream, or sexually transmitted gonorrhoea. The latest figures are from 2023. The organization also looked at various combinations of bacteria and antibiotics. It found that resistance increased in more than 40% of cases between 2018 and 2023, by 5-15% per year depending on the combination of bacteria and antibiotic. There are significant regional differences, with the problem particularly prevalent in countries with weak health systems. In Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean, one in three reported infections is already resistant to the antibiotics studied. According to WHO data, 7.7 million people worldwide died from bacterial infections in 2021, with around 1.1 million of these deaths directly attributable to antibiotic resistance. The WHO is urgently calling for more research and development of new antibiotics. The following information is not intended for publication dpa oe hu xxde fbl rdp coh

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