Antimicrobial Resistance across Pathogens: Global Trends and Strategic Implications for Africa's Public Health Security

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) means that microorganisms like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites can survive even when treated with medicines designed to kill them, making those medicines less effective. The abuse and overuse of antimicrobials in healthcare, agriculture and animal husbandry has hastened the emergence of resistant strains, resulting in extended disease, increased mortality, and a greater economic burden. Bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Staphylococcus aureus are increasingly resistant to medications, including last-resort antibiotics like carbapenems and colistin. Viral pathogens like HIV and influenza, fungi like Candida auris, and parasites such as malaria-causing protozoa and soil-transmitted helminths have all developed resistance to disease management efforts across sectors. AMR's economic toll was tremendous, with trillions of dollars in global GDP at risk and millions of people falling into poverty by 2050. Emerging technologies, particularly artificial intelligence (AI), present intriguing opportunities for diagnostics, surveillance, drug discovery, and stewardship. AI can optimise treatment regimens, monitor resistance patterns, and develop specialised therapies. Addressing AMR necessitates a multidisciplinary, global response based on the One Health paradigm, which incorporates human, animal, and environmental health. Strategies like antibiotic stewardship, innovative drug research, phage therapy, combination treatments, and public education are critical.