- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which the World Health Organization calls a “silent pandemic,” is an often overlooked and growing global health crisis.
- AMR occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites develop the ability to survive and even multiply despite the presence of drugs designed to kill them.
- To make matters worse, research shows that climate change is exacerbating the AMR phenomenon in a number of ways.
Microbiologists at the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology prepare bacterial colonies of Streptococcus pyogenes strains on blood agar plates.
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already recognized One of the major public health threats facing humanity today is that global warming is making it harder to contain the insidious spread of drug-resistant superbugs. ing.
The World Health Organization has defined antimicrobial resistance (AMR) assilent pandemic” is an often overlooked and growing global health crisis.
The United Nations health agency previously declared AMR one of the world’s top 10 threats to human health, stating: Estimation 1.3 million people die each year directly from resistant pathogens.
That number is on track to “.rise dramatically“Without urgent action, public health, economic and social costs will increase, and more people will be pushed into poverty, especially in low-income countries, says WHO.”
Antibiotics, such as life-saving antibiotics and antivirals, are medicines used to prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans and animals. However, its overuse and misuse is known to be the main cause of his AMR phenomenon.
AMR occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites develop the ability to survive and even multiply despite the presence of drugs designed to kill them.
People watch a wildfire rage in the Sikorahi forest near Alexandroupoli in northern Greece on August 23, 2023.
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To make matters worse, the study shows that climate change is exacerbating the AMR crisis in multiple ways.
“Climate change is fundamentally important because it’s what’s happening to our planet. The problem is that the warmer it gets, the more infectious diseases can be transmitted. That includes AMR bacteria,” said Tina Joshi, associate professor of molecular microbiology at a British university. Plymouth University told CNBC via video conference.
“The AMR germ is known as a silent pandemic. The reason it’s known as silent is because no one knows about it. And it’s really sad that no one seems to care,” Joshi said.
A report titled “” was published by the United Nations Environment Program earlier this year.Preparing for superbugs” demonstrate the role of the climate crisis and other environmental factors in the occurrence, spread, and transmission of AMR.
These include high temperatures associated with the rate of spread of antibiotic resistance genes among microorganisms, the emergence of AMR due to the continued disruption of extreme weather events, and increased pollution creating favorable conditions for bugs to develop resistance. Masu.
Scientists said earlier this month that it was “almost certain” that 2023 would be the warmest year on record due to an unusual streak of global temperature records. Extreme heat is being accelerated by the climate crisis, Extreme weather events will become more frequent and intense.
The bottom line is the fact that it is not economically viable to actually invest in antibiotics and their development. And it’s something that shakes up the antibacterial world.
Tina Joshi
Associate Professor of Molecular Microbiology, University of Plymouth
Rob Butler, director of infectious diseases, environment and health at WHO Europe, described AMR as a “very pressing global health challenge”.
“This is a huge healthcare burden, costing EU member states alone the equivalent of €1.5 billion ($1.6 billion) annually in healthcare costs, as well as productivity losses. So this is a staggering challenge. ” Butler told CNBC. phone.
Butler said he hopes the upcoming COP28 climate conference in the United Arab Emirates will serve as a platform for international policymakers to start recognizing the link between the climate crisis and AMR. The UAE will host the United Nations’ annual climate summit from November 30 to December 12.
“The problem is, of course, that antibiotics and antibacterial drugs are not very attractive to industry for development. They are expensive, risky, and there are no antibacterial drugs with sufficient unique properties. I haven’t seen it developed in the last 20 years, to avoid resistance.”
“I hear people talking about this ‘silent pandemic,’ but we shouldn’t be silent. We should be louder about this pandemic,” Butler said.
“You would imagine. [coronavirus] The pandemic may have been a wake-up call, but AMR still hasn’t received enough attention. ”
A petri dish mentioning bacterial contamination on a tray table at the booth of Polygiene AB, a company that provides antibacterial, antibacterial, and deodorizing technology, at the Aircraft Interiors Exhibition held in Hamburg, Germany, on Wednesday, June 15, 2022.
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Butler said perhaps the biggest concern is to encourage industry leaders to tackle AMR, knowing full well that their investments would be better invested in other areas of research and development, such as producing high-profit obesity drugs. The question was how to encourage this.
“For me, that’s what keeps me up at night,” Butler said. “You can think about how society changes through shocks to use antibiotics more carefully so that antibiotic resistance does not develop. “If we don’t have any, we have failed in a sense,” he added. . “And that’s really, really concerning to me.”
Joshi, from the University of Plymouth, echoed this view, saying the AMR diagnostic pipeline was “completely broken” and calling on policymakers to jump-start the process.
“It’s not for profit,” she added. “The bottom line is the fact that it’s not economically viable to actually invest in antibiotics and their development. And that’s what’s shaking up the antibiotic world.”
Thomas Schinecker, CEO of Swiss pharmaceutical company Roche, said last month that policymakers were at risk of not learning the necessary lessons from the coronavirus pandemic, adding that this could lead to a deepening AMR health crisis. He added that it could have a significant impact.
“I don’t think we’ve learned the lessons we should have learned from the last pandemic, and I don’t think we’re any better prepared for the next one,” Schinecker said on CNBC’s “Squawk Box Europe” on October 19. I don’t think there is,” he said. .
“The next pandemic is coming, so I think it’s important that we take those lessons and do what we need to do to be prepared,” he continued.
“One of my concerns is that potentially antibiotic-resistant bacteria could cause a pandemic, so we need to focus on preparing for such situations in the future. there is.”
