Stopping Infections Today Saves Antibiotics Tomorrow

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a growing threat worldwide, making infections harder to treat. Preventing infections and using antibiotics wisely is key to stopping it, experts say.

- Archana Jyoti

Arun's story could have been a celebration of survival.

A successful businessman in his sixties, he had stared down cancer and won—thanks to his doctors, determination, and years of relentless care. He rebuilt his life and his business, becoming a symbol of hope for others fighting the same battle.

But a decade later, a simple fever, a cough and a chill turned into a fight against pneumonia.

The antibiotics that once promised a cure failed him. The infection spread, unstoppable. Arun, who had once triumphed over cancer, became another victim of a quieter, deadlier crisis called Antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites stop responding to antimicrobial medicines. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, disability and death.

Padma Shri Dr. Indira Chakravarty, public health specialist elaborated that AMR makes it harder to treat everyday illnesses like ear infections or pneumonia. It also makes critical diseases like Tuberculosis (TB), HIV, and Neglected Tropical Diseases (NTDs) much more dangerous. Even lifesaving procedures are threatened by AMR's growing resistance. Many surgeries, like organ transplants or even simple operations, rely on antibiotics to prevent infections. If antibiotics don't work, these procedures become much riskier.

Alarmingly, AMR is spreading fast through hospitals, clinics, and communities. The WHO's Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Report 2025, released on October 13, rings alarm bells. One in six bacterial infections worldwide in 2023 no longer responded to antibiotics.

Resistance rose in more than 40% of monitored bacteria-drug pairs between 2018 and 2023, climbing 5-15% each year.