Each year antimicrobial resistance – the ability of microbes to survive agents designed to kill them – claims more lives than malaria and HIV/Aids combined. Africa bears the brunt of this development, which thrives on inequality and poverty. Nadine Dreyer asked Tom Nyirenda, a research scientist with over 27 years’ experience in infectious diseases, what health organisations on the continent are doing to fight this threat to medical progress.
What is antimicrobial resistance?
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines (including antibiotics). This makes infections harder to treat and increases the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
