Open Outbreak

Should I be worried about Antimicrobial resistance?

Updated · Graded from official assessments; nothing here is medical advice.

Antimicrobial resistance · high

If you are in the affected area no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people in the affected area for antimicrobial resistance as a whole. The closest official update is WHO's 31 July 2024 global notice on hypervirulent, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
If you are elsewhere in the same country or region no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for people elsewhere in the same country or region for antimicrobial resistance as a whole. The closest official update is WHO's 31 July 2024 global notice on hypervirulent, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
If you are travelling there soon no assessment
No agency has published an assessment for travellers for antimicrobial resistance as a whole. The closest official update is WHO's 31 July 2024 global notice on hypervirulent, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
If you are elsewhere in the world moderate
WHO assessed the global risk from hypervirulent, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae as moderate on 31 July 2024. WHO said surveillance is not systematic and infections may be underestimated because laboratory detection is incomplete. According to WHO

What is happening

Antimicrobial resistance is a continuing worldwide health threat rather than a single outbreak. In this 14-day window, no new WHO Disease Outbreak News update or other official global case tally was identified for AMR as a whole. The main official benchmark still available is WHO's 31 July 2024 notice on hypervirulent, carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae, which said the strain had been found in at least one country in all six WHO regions and assessed global risk as moderate because surveillance and laboratory detection are incomplete. In this topic window, media report 1000000 deaths and 171048 confirmed cases, both unverified, but these do not amount to a reconciled official worldwide count. Officials are relying on laboratory diagnosis and susceptibility testing, genomic or molecular detection, infection prevention and control in hospitals, contact precautions and isolation where indicated, antimicrobial stewardship, screening in some settings, and access to last-line drugs and antifungals.

Who is affected and how it spreads

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is not one single disease; it is when bacteria or fungi no longer respond well to medicines that used to work. It can affect many infections, including urinary tract infections, pneumonia, bloodstream infections and wound infections. Spread depends on the organism, but resistant germs can pass between people, especially in hospitals and care homes, through contaminated hands and surfaces, food, water, health-care procedures and environmental exposure. Some resistance also spreads when bacteria swap resistance genes, and how serious an infection is depends on the germ, where the infection is in the body, and whether effective drugs are still available.

What we are watching

Updates

Sources