The first release of surveillance data from the World Health Organization on antibiotic resistance reveals high levels of resistance to various severe bacterial infections in both high- and low-income countries.
The new Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System (GLASS) from WHO reveals widespread occurrence of antibiotic resistance among 500,000 people suspected of bacterial infections in 22 countries.
The most commonly reported resistant bacteria were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae, followed by Salmonella spp.
Among patients with suspected bloodstream infections, the proportion showing bacteria resistant to at least one of the most commonly used antibiotics varied greatly between different countries – from zero to 82%. Resistance to penicillin – the drug used for decades worldwide to treat pneumonia – ranged from zero to 51% among the reporting countries. And between 8% and 65% of E. coli associated with urinary tract infections showed resistance to ciprofloxacin, a commonly used antibiotic for treating this condition.
“The report confirms the serious situation of antibiotic resistance worldwide,” says Dr. Marc Sprenger, director of the WHO Antimicrobial Resistance Secretariat.
“Some of the most common – and potentially most dangerous – infections in the world are proving resistant to medications,” adds Sprenger. “And the most concerning thing is that pathogens do not respect 
national borders. That is why WHO is encouraging all countries to establish good surveillance systems to detect drug resistance that can provide data for this global system.”
So far, 52 countries (25 high-income, 20 middle-income, and 7 low-income) are enrolled in the WHO Global Antimicrobial Surveillance System. For the first report, 40 countries provided information on their national surveillance systems, and 22 countries also provided data on levels of antibiotic resistance.
“The report is a vital first step in improving our understanding of the extent of antimicrobial resistance. Surveillance is in its infancy, but it is vital to develop it if we want to anticipate and tackle one of the greatest threats to global public health,” says Dr. Carmem Pessoa-Silva, who coordinates the new surveillance system at WHO.