Antimicrobial Resistance

FAO/Giulio Napolitano

COVID cases surge amid growing threat from antimicrobial resistance – WHO chief 

20 November 2020
Health

More cases of COVID-19 have been reported in the past four weeks than in the first six months of the pandemic, the UN health agency chief told journalists on Friday as he launched a new report on the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance.

WHO/S. Ramo

Silent Pandemic: Overuse renders antimicrobials less effective – UN agriculture agency

18 November 2020
Health

People, plants and animals around the world are dying from untreatable infections – even with the best medicines available – due to a rise in antimicrobial resistance, the UN food agriculture agency said on Wednesday, kicking off World Antimicrobial Awareness Week. 

CDC/Alissa Eckert, James Archer

Antimicrobial resistance - the next pandemic?

18 November 2020
Interviews

All around the world, people, plants and animals are dying from infections that cannot be treated – even with the best medicines available. 

That is because of the rise in antimicrobial resistance - the increasing failure of antibiotics and other life-saving drugs to treat diseases. 

It is a global problem that threatens to be the cause of the next pandemic, as the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Chief Veterinary Officer Keith Sumption explains to FAO’s Charlotta Lomas.  

Audio -
5'25"
PAHO/Joshua Cogan

UN health agency steps up fight against ‘invisible pandemic’ of antimicrobial resistance

18 June 2019
Health

As resistance to antibiotics grows, the World Health Organization (WHO) has launched the latest stage of its campaign to fight this deadly health risk – likened by the agency to an “invisible pandemic”– with the launch of a new online tool for health professionals on Tuesday.

PAHO/WHO

UN, global health agencies sound alarm on drug-resistant infections; new recommendations to reduce ‘staggering number’ of future deaths

29 April 2019
Health

Deaths caused by infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria will skyrocket over the next two decades, along with huge economic costs, without immediate, ambitious and coordinated action, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) and partners warned on Monday.

© World Bank/Arne Hoel

Everyone has a role to play in global superbugs crisis

12 November 2018
Interviews

The overuse of antibiotics not just for human and animal health but also in food production is leading to an increased resistance of bacteria, fungi, viruses and parasites to antimicrobial treatments, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).  Charlotte Lomas spoke with FAO’s Christine Czerniak and began by asking for a definition of antimicrobial resistance or AMR.

Audio -
6'59"
PAHO/WHO

UN health agency finds high levels of antibiotic resistance to world’s most common infections

29 January 2018
Health

Antimicrobials have been a driver of unprecedented medical and societal advances, but their overuse has resulted in antibiotic resistant bacteria, with the World Health Organization (WHO) reporting new surveillance data on Monday which reveals widespread resistance to some of the world’s most common infections, including E. coli and pneumonia.

UN Photo/Evan Schneider (file photo)

Careless disposal of antibiotics could produce ‘ferocious superbugs,’ UN environment experts warn

5 December 2017
Health

Growing antimicrobial resistance linked to the discharge of drugs and some chemicals into the environment is one of the most worrying health threats today, according to new research from the United Nations that highlights emerging challenges and solutions in environment.