A groundbreaking study that was presented at the Escmid Global 2025 today showed that in 2022 more than 3 million children would die due to infections that are due to antibiotic resistance (AMR).
The study underlines the urgent need for both regional and global strategies to control pediatric AMR, especially in areas with high stress such as Southeast Asia and Africa. Antibiotic resistance is a great danger for children who are particularly susceptible to infections. Access to new antibiotics is often much more limited for children due to delays in product development.
The studies showed that more than 752,000 children in Southeast Asia and 659,000 children in Africa died of AMR-related complications in 2022 alone. Many of these deaths were related to the use of watch antibiotics (medication with a high risk of resistance) and reserve antibiotics (last option to treat heavy, multi-resistant infections).
Watch-and-reserve antibiotics are not intended for initial treatment and should only be used if necessary to maintain their effectiveness and reduce the development of resistance.
Between 2019 and 2021, the use of watch antibiotics in Southeast Asia will increase by 160 % and 126 % in Africa. During the same period, the use of reserve antibiotics in Southeast Asia increased by 45 % and 125 % in Africa.
Of the more than 3 million deaths in children worldwide, 2 million were associated with the use of Watch and reserve antibiotics.
“The increasing use of watch and reserve antibiotics may be necessary in response to the simultaneous increase in drug-resistant infections, but the drastic increase in the use of these drugs harbors several serious long-term risks,” commented Professor Joseph Harwell, co-author of the study. “Your increased use, especially without careful surveillance, increases the risk of resistance and limits future treatment options. If bacteria develop resistance to these antibiotics, there is only a few alternatives for the treatment of infections with multi -resistance”.
Several factors contribute to the extent of the AMR in countries with low and medium -sized incomes, including overcrowded hospitals, poor sanitary facilities and insufficient measures for infection prevention, which facilitate the spread of resistant pathogens in healthcare and communities.
Professor Harwell added: “The mortality rates that are already alarming will continue to rise significantly, especially in countries with low and medium -sorts in which access to alternative treatments and advanced medical interventions can be limited. Coping this problem requires urgent and coordinated measures at a regional and global level.”
View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/mehr-als-3-millionen-kinder-starben-im-jahr-2022-an-amr-bedingten-infektionen-zeigt-eine-groWe-studie-302420301.html