Bacteria behind certain bloodstream infections grew highly drug-resistant in 2020 - WHO
Two plates which were coated with an antibiotic-resistant bacteria called Klebsiella with a mutation called NDM 1 and then exposed to various antibiotics are seen at the Health Protection Agency in north London March 9, 2011. REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett/File Photo
High levels of drug resistance in bacteria that often cause bloodstream infections in hospitals emerged in the first year of the pandemic, a World Health Organization report based on data from 87 countries in 2020 has found.
Concerns about so-called superbugs - pathogens that are resistant to existing drugs - are hardly new.
The protracted overuse and/or misuse of existing therapies, particularly antibiotics, has helped microbes to become resistant to many treatments, while the pipeline of replacement therapies in development is limited.
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The WHO report showed levels higher than 50% of resistance in bacteria that typically cause life-threatening bloodstream infections in hospitals, such as Klebsiella pneumoniae and Acinetobacter spp.
