WHO report: Global antimicrobial resistance is growing

The World Health Organization released a report showing one in six laboratory-confirmed common bacterial infections were resistant to antibiotics in 2023. Antibiotic resistance increased in more than 40% of bug-drug combinations monitored from 2018 through 2023, with an average annual increase of 5% to 15%. Antimicrobial resistance was higher in Southeast Asian and Eastern Mediterranean regions, with one in three common bacterial infections drug resistant, compared with one in 10 in Europe and one in five in Africa. Antimicrobial resistance typically is worse in low- and middle-income countries with weak health care systems and limited surveillance capacity. The analysis consisted of more than 23 million bacterial infections and offers resistance prevalence estimates for 22 antibiotics used to various infections. (CIDRAP news release, 10/13/25)