WHO warns of alarming rise in antibiotic-resistant infections

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: World Health Organization + The Guardian
13 Oct 2025 11:43

A new WHO report warns that antibiotic resistance is rising rapidly worldwide, with many common drugs losing effectiveness and experts fearing millions more deaths if urgent global action isn’t taken.

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This 2019 illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention depicts carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) bacteria. (Stephanie Rossow/CDC via AP)

Hospitals around the world are reporting a dangerous increase in infections that no longer respond to antibiotics, prompting urgent warnings from global health experts that drug resistance could drive a steep rise in deaths in the years ahead.

According to the World Health Organization's latest Global Antibiotic Resistance Surveillance report, one in six bacterial infections confirmed in laboratories during 2023 were resistant to available antibiotic treatments. Data from more than 23 million bacterial cases across 104 countries revealed that more than 40% of commonly used antibiotics have lost their effectiveness against infections of the blood, gut, urinary tract, and sexually transmitted diseases since 2018.

The WHO found that resistance is spreading fastest in low- and middle-income countries where healthcare systems are weaker and access to effective treatments is limited.

"These findings are deeply concerning," said Dr Yvan Hutin, director of the WHO's department of antimicrobial resistance. "As antibiotic resistance continues to rise, we are running out of treatment options and we are putting lives at risk, especially in countries where infection prevention and control is weak and access to diagnostics and effective medicine is already limited."

Rising resistance across regions

While some data may overrepresent severe infections due to reporting coming mainly from specialist hospitals, the overall trend is clear. The WHO estimates that in 2023, one in three bacterial infections in southeast Asia and the eastern Mediterranean, and one in five in Africa, were resistant to antibiotic treatment.

Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, occurs when bacteria evolve to withstand drugs designed to kill them. In 2021, bacterial infections caused 7.7 million deaths globally, with 4.71 million linked to drug resistance and 1.14 million directly caused by it.

The report voices growing concern over gram-negative bacteria, such as Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are particularly dangerous because of their outer protective layer. These bacteria often lead to life-threatening conditions like sepsis and organ failure.

Key antibiotics losing effectiveness

Dr. Hutin noted that 40% of E. coli and over 55% of K. pneumoniae infections are resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, a class of antibiotics typically used as first-line treatments. In some parts of Africa, resistance rates exceed 70%.

Resistance is also increasing against key second-line antibiotics, including carbapenems and fluoroquinolones, which are often the last resort for serious infections caused by bacteria such as Acinetobacter, K. pneumoniae, and Salmonella. "These antibiotics are critical for treating severe infections and their growing ineffectiveness is narrowing the treatment options," Hutin said.

Experts warn of 'tipping point'

Dr. Manica Balasegaram, executive director of the Global Antibiotic Research and Development Partnership, described the WHO findings as evidence that the world has reached "a critical tipping point."

"The most difficult-to-treat gram-negative infections are now beginning to outpace antibiotic development, either because the right antibiotics are not reaching the people who need them, or because they are not being developed in the first place," he told The Guardian. "As a result, the number of AMR deaths is now expected to rise sharply, increasing by 70% by 2050.

"It's not enough to develop new antibiotics, they have to be the right ones, those that target infections that have the greatest public health impact. We are failing to replace the antibiotics that are being lost to resistance, and this latest WHO report shows that the consequences of that are now finally beginning to be felt.

"Until now, the AMR narrative has focused rightfully on the overuse of antibiotics, but this isn't enough. To avoid the tipping point, we must now also focus efforts on accelerating innovation and increasing their appropriate use."

Call for global cooperation and innovation

At University College London, Professor Sanjib Bhakta, who researches treatments for drug-resistant infections, said the WHO's findings highlight "an alarming escalation in resistance," particularly among gram-negative bacteria.

He urged global action that includes stronger disease surveillance, better diagnostic tools, and fair access to narrow-spectrum antibiotics. Preventing infections through clean water, sanitation, hygiene, and vaccination is also vital, he said.

"Crucially, renewed investment is needed to support interdisciplinary, blue-sky research aimed at discovering novel therapeutic interventions against drug-resistant bacteria," Bhakta concluded.