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Antimicrobial resistance: global report on surveillance 2014
Most antimicrobials were discovered in the 20th century; they have had a tremendous effect on mortality and morbidity due to infectious diseases. With the increasing problem of resistance to older antimicrobials, and the delay in the development of new antibiotics, many experts are concerned about a return to a "pre-antibiotic" era. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and antibacterial resistance (ABR) are fast becoming a major public health problem. The World Health Organization (WHO) and its member countries recently released their first report on the magnitude of AMR and the current status of surveillance.
This report on global antimicrobial resistance highlights growing concerns about widespread resistance and describes how common disease-causing bacteria are now resistant to a wide variety of antibiotics. The report has focused media attention towards this important and growing problem.
The foreword to the report by Dr Keiji Fukuda, the WHO's assistant director general, Health Security, stresses the urgent need for action to tackle the AMR problem. The report summary mentions high...