Antimicrobial Resistance, a Global Threat

Antimicrobial resistance is a serious problem that poses a serious risk to global health. Widespread use of antibiotics by health professionals and the livestock industry has resulted in an alarming global increase in the prevalence of drug-resistant bacterial infections. To generate debate among the main stakeholders, B-Debate and the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal) organised a meeting entitled "The Global Threat of Antimicrobial Resistance", which took place in CosmoCaixa (Barcelona, Spain) on November 5, 6 and 7.

More than 20 speakers from different organisations involved in the prevention and treatment of infections caused by multidrug-resistant bacteria were invited to participate in this meeting, which focused on three core themes:

• Emerging drug resistance
• Factors that contribute to the emergence and spread of multidrug- resistant bacteria
• The lack of new drugs to treat infections caused by these bacteria

Emergence of antimicrobial resistance

"Antimicrobial resistance is not new. We know that multiresistant bacteria and resistance genes have existed for more than 30,000 years. It is a natural phenomenon" said Jordi Vila, Director of ISGlobal's Antibiotic Resistance Initiative, in the opening session of the meeting. "The origin of resistance genes is environmental stress. When we use antibiotics, susceptible bacteria die and antimicrobial resistance emerges".

Combating antimicrobial resistance

Hilde Kruse, from the WHO Regional Office for Europe, expressed her concerns on the fight against this growing problem. "Antimicrobial resistance is currently perceived as a "medical" or "health" issue, but it needs a governmental approach. We need to translate evidence into policy and improve regulatory framework", she concluded.