The Silent Pandemic: AMR

Written by Vaibhav
4 Jan, 2024

We often associate pandemics with visible outbreaks, but some unfold in the shadows, quietly threatening humanity. One such menace is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), often termed the silent pandemic. While it doesn’t make headlines daily, its impact is as devastating as any global health crisis. Antibiotics are powerful medicines used to prevent and treat bacterial infections. They’ve been instrumental in saving lives, from curing deadly diseases to preventing infections during surgeries. Antibiotics have been one of humanity’s most significant medical achievements, saving millions of lives by effectively treating bacterial infections. However, their misuse in healthcare, agriculture, and even household products has fueled a dangerous phenomenon known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

What is AMR?

AMR occurs when bacteria adapt to antibiotics, rendering treatments ineffective. This leads to infections that are harder to treat, prolonged hospital stays, and increased mortality. This silent pandemic kills over 1.27 million people annually worldwide, surpassing deaths from major diseases like HIV/AIDS or malaria. It’s a silent pandemic that threatens the foundation of modern medicine. Projections suggest that by 2050, AMR could cause 10 million deaths annually equivalent to one person dying every three seconds.

But the effects of AMR go beyond healthcare. It threatens the safety of routine surgeries, cancer treatments, and childbirth, all of which rely heavily on effective antibiotics.

How do bacteria develop resistance?

Bacteria evolve resistance when antibiotics are overused or misused, either through excessive prescriptions or improper dosages. In agriculture, antibiotics are often employed to promote livestock growth and prevent infections, even in healthy animals, significantly contributing to resistance. Bacteria can gain resistance through:

1. Genetic mutations: Natural changes in their DNA that make antibiotics less effective.
2. Horizontal gene transfer: Sharing resistance genes with other bacteria. Overuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, and agriculture accelerates this process.

Antibiotics in Food and Water:

The issue extends beyond hospitals and farms. Antibiotics enter ecosystems through agricultural runoff, waste disposal, and untreated water systems, contaminating food and drinking water. This not only exacerbates resistance but also poses direct health risks to humans, such as allergic reactions and disturbances in gut microbiota. Traces of antibiotics in food and water systems pose dual threats:

1. Health risks: Consuming antibiotic-laden food or water can disrupt gut microbiota and lead to resistance in humans.
2. Environmental impact: Antibiotics in water ecosystems disrupt microbial balance and promote resistant bacteria.

Regulations and gaps:

Efforts to regulate antibiotic use in agriculture and medicine are in place, such as bans on growth-promoting antibiotics in livestock. Efforts like the EU’s One Health Action Plan and the WHO’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance System (GLASS) aim to mitigate AMR by promoting responsible antibiotic use and improving global monitoring systems. However, enforcement varies across regions. Moreover, lack of proper monitoring systems allows antibiotics to seep into food chains and water supplies.

The Detection Problem

Detecting antibiotic residues in consumables and the environment is a complex challenge due to limited access to affordable, rapid, and accurate diagnostic tools. Without effective detection, hotspots of resistance remain unidentified, allowing the problem to grow unchecked Current detection methods for antibiotic residues in food and water are often:

• Expensive and time-consuming.
• Inefficient at low concentrations.
• Limited to centralized labs, leaving rural and remote areas underserved.

How DiagnoBac’s Provides a Solution

DiagnoBac’s addresses this critical need with advanced whole-cell biosensor technology. Our platform can rapidly detect antibiotic residues in food and water, offering a cost-effective and scalable solution. By pinpointing contamination sources, DiagnoBac’s enables regulatory bodies and industries to take timely corrective actions, safeguarding public health and mitigating AMR risks.

At DiagnoBac’s, we aim to tackle these challenges head-on with innovative biosensing technology:

• Fast and accurate detection: Our whole-cell biosensors can identify even trace amounts of antibiotics in food and water.
• Portable and accessible: Unlike traditional lab methods, our solution is compact, making it ideal for decentralized testing in any setting.
• Cost-effective: Affordable solutions ensure wider adoption, especially in resource-constrained areas.

A Call to Action

AMR is a silent pandemic, but it is not inevitable. Through innovative detection technologies like DiagnoBac’s, combined with responsible antibiotic usage and robust global policies, we can turn the tide against this growing threat.

Let’s work together to protect the efficacy of antibiotics and secure a healthier future.