Antimicrobial resistance in the food chain and the AGISAR initiative

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat that medicine is now facing because bacteria have developed a strong defensive response to the increasing use of antibiotics. Bacteria have been able (i) to transfer to pathogens resistance genes naturally present in antibiotic producing organisms and the environment, and (ii) to evolve pre-existing enzymes to inhibit recently developed synthetic antibiotics. Resistance affects all types of antibiotics. In contrast, innovation in antibiotic research faded abruptly in the 1980s. Thus, we face situations in which bacteria resistant to most, if not all, antibiotics can cause serious infections. Show more