Antimicrobial resistance and the growing threat of drug-resistant tuberculosis

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a global health emergency, and experts are concerned that the end of the age of antimicrobials is imminent [1], [2], [3], [4], [5] and [6]. Since the introduction of antimicrobials nearly a century ago, microbes have evolved a variety of methods to resist these drugs. Today, the world is dealing with ‘superbugs’ that are virtually untreatable, including drug-resistant gonorrhea, carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus, and extended-spectrum-beta-lactamase producing strains [5]. The antibiotic pipeline is running dry, and AMR is threatening to undo major gains made in the control of infectious diseases. Models suggest that 300 million people are expected to die prematurely because of AMR over the next 35 years and the world’s GDP will be 2–3.5% lower than it otherwise would be in 2050 [6]. This translates into a loss of 60–100 trillion USD worth of economic output by 2050.