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Review
. 2024 Apr 29:15:1403168.
doi: 10.3389/fmicb.2024.1403168. eCollection 2024.

Emerging challenges in antimicrobial resistance: implications for pathogenic microorganisms, novel antibiotics, and their impact on sustainability

Shikha Sharma  1 , Abhishek Chauhan  2 , Anuj Ranjan  3 , Darin Mansor Mathkor  4 , Shafiul Haque  4   5 , Seema Ramniwas  6 , Hardeep Singh Tuli  7 , Tanu Jindal  2 , Vikas Yadav  8
Affiliations
Review

Emerging challenges in antimicrobial resistance: implications for pathogenic microorganisms, novel antibiotics, and their impact on sustainability

Shikha Sharma et al. Front Microbiol. .

Abstract

Overuse of antibiotics is accelerating the antimicrobial resistance among pathogenic microbes which is a growing public health challenge at the global level. Higher resistance causes severe infections, high complications, longer stays at hospitals and even increased mortality rates. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has a significant impact on national economies and their health systems, as it affects the productivity of patients or caregivers due to prolonged hospital stays with high economic costs. The main factor of AMR includes improper and excessive use of antimicrobials; lack of access to clean water, sanitation, and hygiene for humans and animals; poor infection prevention and control measures in hospitals; poor access to medicines and vaccines; lack of awareness and knowledge; and irregularities with legislation. AMR represents a global public health problem, for which epidemiological surveillance systems have been established, aiming to promote collaborations directed at the well-being of human and animal health and the balance of the ecosystem. MDR bacteria such as E. coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp., and Klebsiella pneumonia can even cause death. These microorganisms use a variety of antibiotic resistance mechanisms, such as the development of drug-deactivating targets, alterations in antibiotic targets, or a decrease in intracellular antibiotic concentration, to render themselves resistant to numerous antibiotics. In context, the United Nations issued the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in 2015 to serve as a worldwide blueprint for a better, more equal, and more sustainable existence on our planet. The SDGs place antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the context of global public health and socioeconomic issues; also, the continued growth of AMR may hinder the achievement of numerous SDGs. In this review, we discuss the role of environmental pollution in the rise of AMR, different mechanisms underlying the antibiotic resistance, the threats posed by pathogenic microbes, novel antibiotics, strategies such as One Health to combat AMR, and the impact of resistance on sustainability and sustainable development goals.

Keywords: antibiotic resistance; gene transfer; mechanisms of resistance; novel antibiotic; sustainability; sustainable development goals.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Spread of Antibiotic Resistance in the ecosystem [Adopted from Berkner et al. (2014)].
Figure 2
Figure 2
Mechanism of action of antibiotics.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Transfer of r-gene from one bacterium to another.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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