Why antibiotic-resistant bacteria are becoming more common, and their impact on global health.

For much of the last century, since the discovery of penicillin, antibiotics have completely transformed medicine, turning multiple once-fatal illnesses into treatable infections. In recent years, however, concern has grown around the evolution of natural resistance mechanisms against these drugs. 

Every year, treatments that once seemed low-risk and easy to recover from have become harder to manage. Among the causes behind this trend, one has stood out as especially alarming: a type of adaptation in infectious microorganisms that disables the effects of antibiotics against them. These are resistant bacteria, commonly known as superbugs, or AMR (antimicrobial resistance). 

An Introduction to "Superbugs"

When we talk about antibiotic resistance, we're really talking about AMR, a global health issue first identified in the 1940s. Deaths directly attributable to AMR are projected to rise from 1.14 million (recorded in 2021) to 1.91 million per year by 2050, a 67.5% increase. 

The medical community now commonly refers to microorganisms resistant to multiple classes of antibiotics at once as "superbugs," and they're being recorded more and more frequently worldwide. In 2023, UNEP released its flagship report, “Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening Environmental Action in the "One Health" Response to Antimicrobial Resistance.” 

Antimicrobial resistance is a constant concern in policy circles, threatening human and animal health while also harming the environment, the global economy, and food security. According to Dr. Sam Willcocks, director of the Antimicrobial Innovations Centre at Brunel University London, the World Health Organization maintains a list of drug-resistant bacteria it considers most concerning, meant to guide research and public health efforts. In an interview with the academic outlet The Conversation, Dr. Willcocks noted that many of these so-called "priority pathogens" are linked to hospital-acquired infections, where sick patients, invasive procedures, and heavy antibiotic use make it easier for resistance to take hold and spread. Others, like drug-resistant tuberculosis, are widespread well beyond hospital settings. 

The Nature of Resistance Itself

As the CDS explains, antibiotics fight bacterial infections either by killing bacteria outright or preventing them from reproducing. There are more than 15 major classes recognized today, including beta-lactams (the most common group, which includes penicillins), aminoglycosides, macrolides, and more. 

Among the causes of the spread of resistance are the overprescription of oral antibiotics and rising overall consumption. That second factor stems largely from antibiotic use in livestock farming to promote growth and prevent disease, letting resistant bacteria

spread through the food chain. The problem isn't veterinary use itself, but doses beyond what's medically appropriate. 

Superbugs have even been shown to form as a result of antibiotics leaching into soil and rivers through industrial waste. 

In simplified terms, the process by which a bacterium acquires mutations or resistance genes and becomes a superbug can be understood in five steps within the human body: 

1 - During bacterial replication, a mutation can occur, producing a genetically distinct daughter cell. 

2 - This mutation equips the bacterium to protect itself, expel, or neutralize the antibiotic molecule. 

3 - When the human host takes antibiotics, the mutated bacterium survives the chemical attack intact. 

4 - The resistant bacterium rapidly divides into millions of copies, replacing the original infection with a colony made up entirely of immune bacteria. 

5 - The superbug then shares copies of its mutated gene with other nearby species, which incorporate the resistance gene themselves and gain the same ability to survive the antibiotic. 

Resistant bacteria have actually existed for millions of years, long before the discovery of penicillin. What's new is the scale at which the problem now affects us. 

A given drug's effectiveness isn't fixed: it depends on the bacterium causing the infection and whether that strain has developed immunity. The communities that worry doctors most are those capable of developing multiple resistances at once, forcing reliance on older drugs with more contraindications, higher costs, or lower success rates. 

Current guidelines focus on giving the right antibiotic, at the right dose, for the shortest time necessary, to avoid contributing to further multiplication of invasive microorganisms. Most organizations approach the problem through a One Health framework, built on three pillars: joint surveillance of resistant bacteria and genes in water, soil, humans, and livestock; prudent antibiotic use; and environmental management of pharmaceutical waste and industrial or agricultural runoff. 

Consequences

Organizations including the WHO, PAHO (Pan American Health Organization), FAO, and UNEP already recognize this phenomenon as one of the ten greatest global public health threats. 

While this piece focuses on antibiotic-resistant bacteria, AMR also affects parasites, fungi, and viruses: it is viewed as a force capable of setting back over 100 years of medical progress, as several treatments fundamental to modern medicine lose their effectiveness

(according to sources including the WHO and UK government reviews). Experts anticipate a major hit to the global economy, driven by the loss of active workers and rising healthcare costs, on top of the poverty that follows employment declines. It's important to recognize that this impact won't be felt equally across regions: it will hit harder in lower-income areas, widening existing equity gaps amid the other global crises of the coming years. 

Proposed Solutions

Another example is the breast cancer awareness campaign "Know Your Lemons" (run by the organization of the same name), which used modified lemons to visually communicate early symptoms of the disease. It's a clever way around the usual censorship this kind of medical information faces due to taboos around the body part involved. See the campaign images on the organization's website. 

Experts also point out that while most healthy people can fight off minor cuts and scrapes without antibiotics, the bigger threat comes from the large number of people who depend on these medications. That includes people for whom antibiotics are critical to safe treatment (older adults, cancer patients, major surgery patients, among others) and people with limited access to healthcare, who turn to self-medication or cheaper counterfeit versions and often get incorrect doses or drugs with no active ingredient at all. 

The Role of Art in Public Communication

It's worth highlighting the role that art and communication play here. Both are regularly called on by researchers studying the crisis to reach the public directly, supporting the kind of awareness campaigns that major initiatives like One Health depend on to address the problem at its root. 

There’s a pattern in modern health campaigns with strong track records, such as "Don't Let Lupus Win," created by FELUPUS and AstraZeneca together with poet Andrea Valbuena and illustrator Sara Herranz (image). That campaign aimed to reflect the pain, fear, and hope of people living with lupus, with the goal of raising visibility, educating the public about the condition, and motivating patients themselves. 

(Image corresponding to the poem "Invisible" by Andrea Valbuena, illustrated by Sara Herranz, for FELUPUS's "Don't Let Lupus Win" campaign. Used here for analytical and informational purposes.) 

Another example is the breast cancer awareness campaign "Know Your Lemons" (run by the organization of the same name), which used modified lemons to visually communicate early symptoms of the disease. It's a clever way around the usual censorship this kind of medical

information faces due to taboos around the body part involved. See the campaign images on the organization's website. 

As pointed out by both Rollins magazine and the Pan American Health Organization, multiple positive traits have been found in using artistic media in campaigns that trigger an emotional response in viewers, one capable of driving changes in habits that prevent illness or favor long-term health (like regular checkups, not smoking, or eating well). Some articles note these effects have surprised U.S. specialists in the context of COVID-19 vaccination campaigns. 

Closing Thoughts 

Everything covered here shows that antimicrobial resistance is a scientific, medical, and social challenge all at once. Facing a threat that remains invisible to most of the public, research needs to be paired with tools that bring that knowledge closer to society. In that context, art and public communication can play a key role, turning complex information into accessible messages that encourage prevention and the responsible use of antibiotics.