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3h ago

WHO Reports One in Six Bacterial Infections Now Resistant to Antibiotics

With Gram-negative resistance accelerating, WHO urges stronger diagnostics, stewardship, reporting and new drug development.

Bacteria outbreak and bacterial infection background as dangerous bacteriology germ strain pandemic as a medical health risk of pathogens concept with disease cells as a 3D render
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Overview

  • Between 2018 and 2023, resistance increased in more than 40% of monitored pathogen–antibiotic pairs, with average annual rises of 5–15%, the WHO surveillance report finds.
  • E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae now show high resistance to third‑generation cephalosporins (over 40% and 55% globally, respectively), exceeding 70% in parts of Africa, while carbapenems and fluoroquinolones are losing effectiveness.
  • The burden is uneven, with about one in three reported infections resistant in WHO South‑East Asia and Eastern Mediterranean regions and roughly one in five in Africa, and the Americas likely underestimating due to sparse reporting.
  • GLASS participation reached 104 countries and over 23 million confirmed cases, yet 48% of countries did not report in 2023 and many lack reliable systems, prompting a WHO push for high‑quality AMR and antimicrobial use data by 2030.
  • WHO calls for coordinated One Health measures, responsible antibiotic use, expanded access to diagnostics and vaccines, and targeted innovation, as national data such as a 70% rise in U.S. NDM‑CRE infections since 2019 echo the global trend.