Antimicrobial (Drug) Resistance: A Growing Health Issue
The emergence of drug-resistant microbes is not new or unexpected. Both natural causes and societal pressures drive bacteria, viruses, parasites, and other microbes to continually change in an effort to evade the drugs developed to kill them.
Natural causes
Like all organisms, microbes undergo random genetic mutations, and these changes can enhance drug resistance. Resistance to a drug arising by chance in just a few organisms can quickly spread through rapid reproduction to entire populations of a microbe.
Societal pressures
Antimicrobial resistance is fostered by the overuse and misuse of antimicrobial drugs in people as well as animals; a lack of diagnostic tests to rapidly identify infectious agents; and poor hand hygiene and infection control in healthcare and community settings.
Together, these forces contribute to the problem of drug-resistant infections that are increasingly difficult and costly to treat.
Quick facts about antimicrobial resistance.
Drug-Resistant Microbes of Concern Today
Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA)
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, increasingly seen not only in hospitals and healthcare settings (hospital acquired or HA-MRSA) but also in the wider community, especially among people in close contact such as athletes (community associated or CA-MRSA). More about MRSA.
Vancomycin-Resistant Enterococci (VRE)
Vancomycin-resistant Enterococci (VRE) bacteria are resistant to vancomycin, an antibiotic regarded as a drug of last resort. More about VRE.
Microbes Increasingly Resistant to Drugs
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