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Review
. 2015 Jun 5;370(1670):20140082.
doi: 10.1098/rstb.2014.0082.

Tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance: from policy to sustainable action

Laura J Shallcross  1 , Simon J Howard  2 , Tom Fowler  3 , Sally C Davies  4
Affiliations
Review

Tackling the threat of antimicrobial resistance: from policy to sustainable action

Laura J Shallcross et al. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci. .

Abstract

Antibiotics underpin all of modern medicine, from routine major surgery through to caesarean sections and modern cancer therapies. These drugs have revolutionized how we practice medicine, but we are in a constant evolutionary battle to evade microbial resistance and this has become a major global public health problem. We have overused and misused these essential medicines both in the human and animal health sectors and this threatens the effectiveness of antimicrobials for future generations. We can only address the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) through international collaboration across human and animal health sectors integrating social, economic and behavioural factors. Our global organizations are rising to the challenge with the recent World Health Assembly resolution on AMR and development of the Global Action plan but we must act now to avoid a return to a pre-antibiotic era.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; global health; policy; public health.

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Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacteriaceae confirmed by PHE-AMRHAI-Colindale from UK laboratories. IMP, Imipenemase metallo-β-lactamase; VIM, Verona integron-encoded metallo-β-lactamases; KPC, Klebsiella pneumoniae carbapenemases; OXA-48, Oxacillinase-48; NDM, New Delhi metallo-β-lactamase; IMI, Imipenem-hydrolysing β-lactamases. Source: Public Health England. (Online version in colour.)
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
Number of MRSA bacteraemias in England reported through the mandatory surveillance system, 2002–2010. Source: Johnson et al. [6].
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
Annual deaths attributable to AMR compared to other major causes of death. Source: Antimicrobial resistance: tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance [12]. (Online version in colour.)
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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