ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE: A GROWING GLOBAL HEALTH CHALLENGE

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to the medicines designed to kill them, making common infections harder or impossible to treat. This review summarises the current evidence on the global burden of bacterial AMR, its main drivers, the pathogens of greatest concern and the strategies proposed to contain it. According to the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) project, bacterial AMR was directly responsible for 1.27 million deaths and associated with 4.95 million deaths in 2019; forecasts to 2050 predict 1.91 million attributable and 8.22 million associated deaths per year, with 39 million cumulative attributable deaths between 2025 and 2050. The 2025 WHO surveillance report shows that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections worldwide was resistant to antibiotics in 2023. The article discusses the role of antibiotic overuse in human medicine and agriculture, weak infection prevention, limited diagnostics and the slow development of new antibiotics, and outlines the One Health approach, antimicrobial stewardship, vaccination and surveillance as the main pillars of the global response. Implications for medical education and for Uzbekistan are considered.