Resistance mechanisms spread globally and threatening our ability to treat common infectious diseases. Antibiotic resistance is rising to dangerously in all parts of the world. A growing list of infections—such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, blood poisoning and gonorrhoea—are becoming harder, and sometimes impossible, to treat as antibiotics become less effective.
In countries where antibiotics can be bought without a prescription, emergence and spread of resistance is made worse. Similarly, in countries without standard treatment guidelines, antibiotics are often over-prescribed by health workers and over-used by the public.
Without urgent action, we are heading for a post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries can once again kill.