Superbugs getting closer? 40% of pathogen-antibiotic combinations show increased resistance

Antibiotics play a major role in curbing bacterial infections which is why they are used widely in several medical treatments, including surgery and chemotherapy. But this integral part of modern medicine is slowly becoming 'ineffective', according to a study recently released by the World Heath Organisation (WHO). The new Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025 reveals that one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections causing common infections in people across the world in 2023 failed to respond to antibiotic treatments.

The study says that between 2018 and 2023, over 40% of the pathogen-antibiotic combinations monitored showed increased resistance, which amounts to an average annual increase of 5–15%.

Data from over 100 countries were collected by WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) to come to this conclusion.

Notably, for the first time, the Global antibiotic resistance surveillance report 2025 presented resistance prevalence estimates across 22 antibiotics used to treat infections of the urinary and gastrointestinal tracts, the bloodstream and those used to treat gonorrhoea.

Eight common bacterial pathogens were covered during the study, which are - Acinetobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, non-typhoidal Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.

Antibiotic resistance across the world

According to the study, antibiotics resistance was the highest in South-East Asian and Eastern Mediterranean Regions where 1 in 3 reported infections were resistant. While the African region reported 1 in 5 infections to be resistant to antibiotics.

Places where health systems lack capacity to diagnose or treat bacterial pathogens saw an increased resistance.

“Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families worldwide,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.

“As countries strengthen their AMR surveillance systems, we must use antibiotics responsibly, and make sure everyone has access to the right medicines, quality-assured diagnostics, and vaccines. Our future also depends on strengthening systems to prevent, diagnose and treat infections and on innovating with next-generation antibiotics and rapid point-of-care molecular tests,' he added.

Which pathogens are posing the greatest threat?

Gram-negative bacterial pathogens like E. coli and K. pneumoniae are the leading drug-resistant bacteria found in bloodstream infections, according to the findings.

These bacterial infections often lead to sepsis, organ failure, and death. Yet more than 40% of E coli and over 55% of K. pneumoniae worldwide are now resistant to third-generation cephalosporins, the first-choice anti biotic treatment for them.

Other essential antibiotics, including carbapenems and fluoroquinolones, are slowly showing signs of ineffectiveness against E. coli, K. pneumoniae, Salmonella, and Acinetobacter.