Why is antimicrobial resistance spreading so fast?
Although mutations are rare events (about one in a million bacteria may show a mutation which might lead to resistance), microbes multiply very rapidly – thereby enabling a single mutant to rapidly become dominant. Microbes also spread readily from person to person. Thus one patient infected with a resistant strain may be an important source of spread, not only of the infection, but of a resistant infection. This is demonstrated in hospitals, where one patient infected with MRSA, for example, is often the source from which many others become infected or colonised. Thus in taking action to contain resistance, both the emergence of resistance and the spread of resistant strains need to be considered. TACKLING THE PROBLEM Can antimicrobial resistance be halted? No. But it can be contained. Antimicrobial resistance is a natural biological phenomenon – the response of microbes subjected to the selective pressure of antimicrobial drug use. The main priority should be to prevent infection in
