Factsheets about antimicrobial consumption

Antibiotic resistance is a natural occurrence caused by mutations in bacteria’s genes. However, excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics accelerates the emergence and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Antimicrobial resistance is the ability of a microorganism (e.g., a bacterium, a virus, or a parasite, such as the malaria parasite) to resist the action of an antimicrobial agent. Multidrug resistance corresponds to resistance of a microorganism to multiple antimicrobials. The major cause of antimicrobial resistance in microorganisms from humans remains the use of antimicrobials in human medicine, in the community and in hospitals and other healthcare settings.