Antimicrobial resistance: the next BIG pandemic

Abstract

Pandemics have indefinitely threatened the resilience of health systems worldwide. Based on the costs inflicted by some of the deadliest pandemics in human history, economists have projected that global pandemics could cost over USD 6 trillion and generate an annual estimated loss of over USD 60 billion. While the global health community is tirelessly trying to curb the burden of premature mortality from several old and new forms of pathogens, it is now faced with the silently emerging antimicrobial resistance (AMR) pandemic that could endanger some of the most significant advances in modern medicine. Owing to rampant antibiotic consumption in India, the article shows why the country may become the ‘AMR capital of the world’. It shows how health systems may be strengthened both at the national and international levels to reduce premature mortality and morbidity attributable to AMR and pandemics.