Antibiotic Use and Resistance Rise Dramatically

Antibiotic use is growing steadily worldwide, driven mainly by rising demand in low- and middle-income countries, according to a report released on September 17. The research presents the clearest picture yet of how and where the drugs are used, and the prevalence of different types of antibiotic resistance.
The Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics and Policy (CDDEP), a non-profit group headquartered in Washington DC, based the analysis on data from scientific literature and national and regional surveillance systems. The organization used this to calculate and map the rate of antibiotic resistance for 12 types of bacteria in 39 countries, and trends in antibiotic use in 69 countries over the past 10 years or longer.
Global antibiotic consumption grew by 30% between 2000 and 2010. This growth is driven mostly by countries such as South Africa and India, where antibiotics are widely available over the counter and sanitation in some areas is poor.
In India, for instance, the number of Klebsiella pneumoniaeinfections that are resistant to a class of powerful antibiotics called carbapenems doubled from 29% in 2008 to 57% in 2014. By contrast, fewer than 10% of K. pneumoniae infections in the United States and Europe are carbapenem resistant.
The report also found that the use of antibiotics in livestock is growing worldwide. The problem is particularly acute in China, which used about 15,000 tons of antibiotics for this purpose in 2010; the country is projected to double its consumption by 2030.