Therapeutic and Unconventional Strategies to Contrast Antimicrobial Resistance: A Literature Review

The fast emergence and spread of drug-resistant infectious pathogens and the resulting increase in associated and attributable deaths is a major health challenge globally. Misuse of antibiotics, insufficient infection prevention and control (IPC) in hospitals, food, animal feed, and environmental contamination due to drug-resistant microbes and genes have been the main drivers for antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR can lead to ineffective drug treatment, persistence of infection, and risk of severe disease especially in frail, immunocompromised, elderly patients. It is estimated that AMR will cause around 10 million deaths every year after 2050, the same number of deaths due to cancer occurring every year in present times. AMR affects the progress towards the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and is crucial for pandemic preparedness and response. Therefore, the international authorities such as G7 and G20, the World Bank, the World Health Organization (WHO), the General Assembly of the United Nations, and the European Union call for innovative antibiotics and strategies to combat this health threat. To underline this emergency, two lists of resistant “priority pathogens” and a global research agenda for AMR in human health have been published by the WHO. Although investigation of safe and effective treatments remains a top priority, the pipeline for new antimicrobials is not promising, and alternative solutions are needed urgently. In recent times, the interest in fighting AMR has increased, and a number of preventive or therapeutic options have been explored. In this literature review, we discuss the scientific evidence and the limits of the main proven unconventional strategies to combat the AMR phenomenon in the human sector.