Antimicrobial Resistance’s Impact on the Healthcare System

The Era of Antibiotic Abuse

Abstract

Nearly a century after the first discovery of antibiotics, the rampant misuse of antibiotics has increased the rate of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) exponentially. This misuse has impacted modern healthcare systems around the world with the rise of drug-resistant infections. While bacterial species have had the ability to resist antibiotics before humans utilized antibiotics for treatment, AMR has increased with overuse of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections (Larsson, 2021 ). This paper explores the rise of AMR as the consequence of the overuse of antibiotics and the halt in production of new pharmaceuticals. These obstacles drive the increase of AMR, and consequently, the rise of deadly antibiotic-resistant infections such as Staphylococcus aureus in modern healthcare systems. In addressing this rise of deadly infection, the international health community has mobilized in fighting AMR through investment in research and development of new antibiotics. The world's reliance on antibiotics is emerging as one of the largest global health threats of the twenty-first century, with impacts felt around the globe.