MODERN APPROACHES TO COMBATING ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE
Keywords:
antibiotic resistance, antimicrobial resistance (AMR), antimicrobial stewardship, multidrug resistance, bacteriophage therapy, One Health, WHO Global Action PlanAbstract
Antibiotic resistance (AMR) represents one of the most critical global public health threats of the 21st century, responsible for approximately 1.27 million direct deaths annually worldwide. This review systematically examines contemporary strategies to combat AMR, including antimicrobial stewardship programs (ASPs), novel therapeutic modalities such as bacteriophage therapy and antimicrobial peptides, and international policy frameworks including the WHO Global Action Plan on AMR and the One Health approach. Evidence from randomized controlled trials, systematic meta-analyses, and global surveillance data (WHO GLASS, CDC, ECDC) demonstrates that coordinated multimodal interventions can meaningfully reduce inappropriate antibiotic use and slow resistance emergence. Sustained investment in research and development, robust international surveillance networks, and universal implementation of the One Health framework are essential to turning the tide against AMR.
References
1. Murray, C. J. L., et al. (2022). Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis. The Lancet, 399(10325), 629–655.
2. World Health Organization. (2022). Global antimicrobial resistance and use surveillance system (GLASS) report 2022. WHO Press.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2022). Antibiotic resistance threats in the United States, 2022. U.S. DHHS.
4. European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. (2023). Antimicrobial resistance in the EU/EEA (EARS-Net): Annual epidemiological report 2022. ECDC.
5. Baur, D., et al. (2021). Effect of antibiotic stewardship on the incidence of infection and colonisation with antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 17(9), 990–1001.
6. Schooley, R. T., et al. (2021). Bacteriophage therapy: a reinvigorated frontier. Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy, 64(10), e01315-20.
7. Dickey, S. W., Cheung, G. Y. C., & Otto, M. (2017). Different drugs for bad bugs: antivirulence strategies. Nature Reviews Drug Discovery, 16(7), 457–471.
8. Tacconelli, E., et al. (2018). Discovery and development of new antibiotics: the WHO priority list. The Lancet Infectious Diseases, 18(3), 318–327.
9. Mendelson, M., et al. (2020). Maximising access to achieve appropriate antibiotic use. The Lancet, 395(10244), 1595–1601.
10. Van Boeckel, T. P., et al. (2019). Global trends in antimicrobial resistance in animals in LMICs. Science, 365(6459), eaaw1944.
11. O'Neill, J. (2016). Tackling drug-resistant infections globally: Final report. Review on Antimicrobial Resistance. https://amr-review.org/
12. WHO. (2021). AWaRe antibiotic book. World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240013780
