Lancet Review Paper: Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative Bacteria

Centre Director, Professor Anton Peleg, along with Centre Leader, Dr Nenad Macesic, and colleague Associate Professor Anne-Catrin Uhlemann published a Lancet review paper on Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacterial infections.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major 21st century global health challenge. Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria (MDR-GNB) contribute a significant portion of the AMR threat, with an estimated 4.71 million deaths associated with bacterial AMR. MDR-GNB is a leading cause of both community and healthcare-associated infections. Low- and middle-income countries are disproportionately affected due to factors such as the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, lack of clean water, and inadequate infection control.

There have been advancements in diagnostics and therapeutiics for MDR-GNB to address the increasing unmet need. Some clinically relevant MDR-GNBs include Enterobacterales, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acinetobacter baumannii.

Advances in diagnostics have shown that rapid diagnostics are crucial for timely and appropriate antibiotic use, and improved patient outcomes. Techniques such as multiplex PCR assays, mass spectrometry, and whole genome sequencing.

Whilst MDR-GNBs have shown susceptibility to many new antibiotics, non-antibiotic approaches are also promising alternatives for clinical infections resistant to pre-existing antibiotics. Such approaches include phage therapy, microbiota-based therapies, immunotherapies and antivirulence therapies.

Read the research review paper here to learn more about the challenges, knowledge gaps and future directions in combating the growing threat of MDR-GNB infections.