Over three million children globally have been estimated to have died in 2022 from antibiotic-resistant infections, according to a research conducted by two senior experts on child health, Africans and children from South East Asia were among the most vulnerable groups.
Antimicrobial resistance also referred to as AMR occurs when the microbes that infect us adapt so that antibiotic medicines are no longer effective.
It has been recognized as one of the largest public health challenges to the world’s population, a new research now shows the cost that AMR is exacting on children.
Research Findings
Drawing on data from a variety of sources, such as the World Health Organization (WHO) and the World Bank, the authors of the report have estimated there were over three million deaths among children in 2022 caused by drug-resistant infections.
The experts say the new research shows a greater than tenfold rise in AMR-related infections among children over only three years.
The figure might have been exacerbated by the effect of the Covid pandemic.
Increased Antibiotic Usage
Antibiotics are prescribed to cure or stop a massive spectrum of infections caused by bacteria – from skin infections to pneumonia.
They are also occasionally prescribed as a precaution to prevent, but not treat, an infection – for instance if a person is undergoing surgery or undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
Antibiotics do not affect viral infections, however conditions like the common cold, flu, or Covid.
But certain bacteria have now developed resistance to some medications, as a result of their overuse and misuse, while the development of new antibiotics a long and expensive process has slowed right down.
Surge in Prescription of Critical Antibiotics
The lead authors of the report, Doctor Yanhong Jessika Hu of Australia’s Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and Professor Herb Harwell of the Clinton Health Access Initiative, identify a sharp increase in the prescription of antibiotics intended to be reserved only for the most severe infections.
In 2019-2021 consumption of “watch antibiotics” with high resistance potential grew by 160% in South East Asia and 126% in Africa.
In the same time frame, “reserve antibiotics”drugs reserved as final treatments for extreme, multi-resistant infections grew by 45% in South East Asia and 125% in Africa.
Fading Choices for Treatment
The authors caution that if bacteria become resistant to these antibiotics, few, if any, alternatives will be available for the treatment of multidrug-resistant infections.
Prof Harwell is reporting the results at the Congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases in Vienna later this month.
AMR is a global problem. It affects everyone. We did this work really to focus on the disproportionate way in which AMR affects children,” he said ahead of the event.
“We estimate three million deaths of children worldwide associated with antimicrobial resistance.”
Is There a Solution to AMR?
The WHO describes AMR as one of the most serious global health threats we face, but speaking from Vienna, Prof Harwell warns that there are no easy answers.
“It’s a multi-faceted problem that extends into all aspects of medicine and really, human life,” he said.
“Antibiotics are ubiquitous around us, they end up in our food and the environment and so coming up with a single solution is not easy.”
The best way to avoid a resistant infection is to avoid infection altogether, which means higher levels of immunisation, water sanitation, and hygiene are needed, he adds.
“There’s going to be more antibiotics use because there’s more people who need them, but we need to make sure that they are used appropriately and the correct medicines are used.”
Wake-Up Call for Global Health Leaders
Dr. Lindsey Edwards, a senior lecturer in microbiology at King’s College London, said the new study “marks a significant and alarming increase compared to previous data”.
“These findings should serve as a wake-up call for global health leaders. Without decisive action, AMR could undermine decades of progress in child health, particularly in the world’s most vulnerable regions.”
