WHAT IS ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE?

What if water could no longer put out fire? What if, over time, fire evolved to outsmart water—raging uncontrolled to destroy everything in its path?

Now, imagine instead of fire, it’s germs. Specific strains of bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites that make people sick have adapted in order to avoid the antimicrobials (medicines such as antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics) designed to treat them. This is called antimicrobial resistance (AMR). These drug-resistant germs, also known as superbugs, are currently putting millions of people at risk of developing a life-threatening, untreatable infection.

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: AN INVISIBLE ENEMY

While superbugs may sound like science fiction, they are a very real danger and can spread between people, animals, and the environment (through drinking water and soil).

ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: AN UNKNOWN ENEMY

In 2021, an online survey was carried out among 6,330 adults living in the United States, Brazil, China, India, and Spain. Globally, only half of adults surveyed (52%) were aware of the term antimicrobial resistance, but fewer had knowledge of the effects of AMR. Learn more about the survey conducted and the findings below.

KNOW YOUR RISK

Who is at risk of infection with a superbug? In short: everyone. But AMR is hardest on people most vulnerable to infection:

• Young children and people over the age of 60
• People with underlying conditions like heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), stroke, Alzheimer’s disease, diabetes, kidney disease, cancer, and people with autoimmune conditions.

SEPSIS AND ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE (AMR)

Sepsis, which was often called blood poisoning, is the body’s overwhelming and life-threatening response to an infection and is one of the most significant health complications that can result from antimicrobial resistance. Like strokes or heart attacks, sepsis is a medical emergency that requires rapid diagnosis and treatment. Sepsis can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

How is an antimicrobial-resistant infection connected to sepsis? Antimicrobial resistance challenges the treatment of sepsis. As more germs become resistant to antimicrobial medicines used to treat infection, more people are at risk for developing sepsis.

A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

How did this happen? The answer is complicated, but two contributing factors are:

1. Not taking antimicrobials as intended: taking them too often, unnecessarily, or not finishing a course of medicine. The more a germ is exposed to the same antimicrobials designed to take it down, the more likely it is to learn how to outsmart the medicine and survive.
2. While superbugs have evolved, our antimicrobials have not. First widely used in the 1940s, antimicrobials (starting with the antibiotic penicillin) have saved millions of lives. But after this major discovery, there have been few new advancements.

Antimicrobial resistance means common medical procedures—dentist visits,
cesarean sections (C-sections), hip replacements, chemotherapy, and organ
transplants—will carry a greater risk of infection.

HOW CAN WE HELP TAKE DOWN ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE?

Taking simple precautions can help us fight back. Remember: the POWER to defeat superbugs is up to us.

Learn more about some superbugs that are currently in the news by clicking here.

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The PASTEUR Act is a bill that has been introduced in Congress. It seeks to slow and stop the growing problem of antimicrobial resistance by encouraging the development of new drugs and protecting the ones we already have. For example:

• The PASTEUR Act would establish a “de-linked” subscription model between the government and developers of new antimicrobials, encouraging research and innovation.
• The PASTEUR Act would distribute grants to hospitals to support their efforts to carefully use the antimicrobials we already have. Priority will be given to rural hospitals, critical access hospitals, and safety net hospitals—places where proper funding for antimicrobial stewardship programs is often hard to come by.
• The PASTEUR Act would create a “Committee on Critical Need Antimicrobials” consisting of doctors, patients, subject matter experts, and representatives from federal agencies, to develop guidelines to help us all understand and curb AMR.

These changes will help to keep infections from progressing out of control, and ultimately save lives and limbs from sepsis. Find out more about the PASTEUR Act here.

In November 2023, Sepsis Alliance released a new survey report to mark World Antimicrobial Awareness Week. The new research in this report, which was conducted by healthcare consultancy Sage Growth Partners, found that healthcare C-suite executives believe the threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is only growing worse and healthcare professionals are responsible for helping to solve the AMR problem.

Click here to download the full report.

In September 2022, Sepsis Alliance heralded a survey conducted by Radius Global Market Research of more than 150 Infectious Disease (ID) Physicians and Pharmacists who have practiced medicine for at least one year to determine their knowledge of Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), their institution’s AMR education, and their views on what might help lessen the global burden of AMR. Click here to learn more about the findings of this first-of-its-kind survey. Download the full report below.

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You can help save lives by supporting our work to raise awareness of sepsis and AMR. Click here to give now.

Looking for more information about sepsis, antimicrobial resistance, and Sepsis Alliance? Find some resources below:

• What is sepsis?
• Sepsis and Antibiotic Resistance
• Read the Press Release
• 7 Reasons to Care about Superbugs & AMR

Funding for this campaign was provided by an independent medical research grant from Pfizer.