India faces growing threat as key antibiotics lose effectiveness, says ICMR

The rise in diseases like urinary tract infections, pneumonia, and typhoid, now harder to treat due to bacteria's growing resistance to common antibiotics, paints a grim picture

India's battle against antibiotic resistance has taken a dire turn. A new report from the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) highlights a worrying rise in drug-resistant infections nationwide. Diseases like urinary tract infections (UTIs), blood infections, pneumonia, and typhoid are becoming harder to treat as bacteria increasingly resist common antibiotics.
 

The ICMR’s Antimicrobial Resistance Surveillance Network (AMRSN) released its seventh annual report, which focused on the diminishing effectiveness of antibiotics typically used to combat infections such as pneumonia, sepsis, respiratory diseases, and diarrhoea. The study analysed data from hospitals and clinics across India between January 1, 2023, and December 31, 2023, covering both outpatients and intensive care units (ICUs).
 

The report revealed alarming trends, with 99,492 samples from public and private healthcare centres tested for resistance against bacteria including E. coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Staphylococcus aureus. These samples were drawn from blood, urine, the respiratory tract, and other infection sites.
 

One of the most concerning findings was the growing resistance of E. coli, particularly in ICUs and outpatient settings. Key antibiotics such as cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin, and levofloxacin showed less than 20 per cent effectiveness in treating infections caused by this bacteria.
 

Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa also displayed increasing resistance, particularly to critical antibiotics like piperacillin-tazobactam, imipenem, and meropenem. The report noted a significant decline in piperacillin-tazobactam’s effectiveness, dropping from 56.8 per cent in 2017 to just 42.4 per cent in 2023.
 

Even widely used antibiotics like amikacin and meropenem, once considered reliable, are losing their potency against infections. Gram-negative bacteria, responsible for infections in various parts of the body, were the most prevalent in samples taken from blood, urine, and the lungs.
 

Researchers also found that over 95 per cent of Salmonella typhi strains, the bacteria responsible for gastroenteritis, have developed resistance to fluoroquinolones, a group of antibiotics frequently prescribed for severe infections.
 

"Continuous surveillance of antimicrobial susceptibilities is crucial for tailoring empiric antibiotic therapy, optimizing patient outcomes, and controlling the spread of resistance," the report said.
 

The report also raised concerns over the misuse of critical antibiotics in agriculture, which exacerbates the resistance crisis. It urged for stricter regulations to preserve the efficacy of these essential drugs for both human and animal health.