Drivers of Antimicrobial Resistance

Dear Colleagues,

The emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) pathogens continue to threaten our ability to treat common infections. More alarming is the rapid spread of multi- and pan-resistant pathogens causing infections that are not treatable with available antibiotics. AMR is a one health problem, as antibiotic resistant organisms are found in people, animals, food, plants and the environment. The bidirectional transmission of AMR organisms or genes between human, animal and environment can occur and therefore combatting AMR requires an integrated approach. It is very important to understand the factors that affect the emergence and transmission of AMR organisms and genes, while developing strategies to address AMR. The drivers of AMR can be broadly categorized into two types, anthropogenic or human-caused drivers and natural drivers. Anthropogenic drivers include, but are not limited to, the inappropriate use of antimicrobials in both humans and animals, as well as lack of access to clean water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), poor infection prevention and control in health-care facilities and farms, lack of awareness and knowledge and lack of enforcement of legislation. Natural drivers include the intrinsic resistance of organisms to antimicrobials, co- or cross-resistance between antibiotics, and other antimicrobial compounds present in the environments. The role of drivers can be region- and context-specific, and therefore intervention strategies focusing on one driver in a particular region may not be effective in the other region. For example, drivers that are important for low-income countries may not be appropriate for high-income countries. Besides, there might be a trade-off between anthropogenic and natural drivers that play an important role in the evolution and transmission of AMR in some ecosystems, which is largely under-documented. This Special Issue welcomes contributions focused on studying differential drivers of AMR in humans, animals and environment in different settings and how the drivers in one sector/setting influence the others in increasing the overall burden of AMR.

Prof. Dr. Mohammad Aminul Islam
Guest Editor

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• overuse and misuse of antibiotics
• one health
• anthropogenic drivers
• natural drivers
• resistance transfer
• AMR colonization
• resistome
• horizontal gene transfer