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Superbugs on the rise: One lakh lab samples show routine antibiotics no longer effective in India
India's common infections are becoming untreatable as widely used antibiotics lose efficacy, according to a new ICMR report. Bacteria causing UTIs, pneumonia, and sepsis are increasingly resistant to standard medications, particularly in hospitals. Experts warn of a critical public health challenge requiring immediate action and responsible antibiotic use.
Widely used antibiotics are rapidly losing their ability to treat even routine infections in India, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research's (ICMR) 2024 Antimicrobial Resistance Research & Surveillance Network (AMRSN) report.
As per the report, common illnesses such as urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sepsis and diarrhoeal diseases are becoming increasingly difficult to manage because the bacteria causing them are no longer responding to standard medications.
The report, based on samples collected from nearly one lakh labs, reveals that drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria remain dominant across healthcare settings. E. coli, a leading cause of UTIs and bloodstream infections, is showing reduced sensitivity to powerful antibiotics. Klebsiella pneumoniae, which commonly causes severe pneumonia and sepsis, is now resistant to piperacillin-tazobactam in almost 75% of cases and shows high resistance to carbapenems, leaving limited treatment choices for doctors.
The situation is even more critical inside ICUs, the report claimed. Acinetobacter baumannii exhibits 91% resistance to meropenem, pushing clinicians toward more toxic or complex drug combinations. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is also displaying steadily increasing resistance. Overall, drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria were responsible for 72% of bloodstream infections, and most ventilator-associated pneumonia cases involved acinetobacter, klebsiella and pseudomonas—organisms that no longer respond to many high-end antibiotics.
While a few pockets of improvement were recorded—such as better E. coli sensitivity to amikacin and select cephalosporins—the larger trend remains grim. Diarrhoeal pathogens showed heavy resistance to fluoroquinolones and cephalosporins, and over 95% of Salmonella typhi samples were resistant to fluoroquinolones. Among fungal infections, Candida auris displayed resistance in close to 10% of isolates, and nearly one-third of Aspergillus samples were resistant to amphotericin B.
ICMR noted that the data primarily reflects hospital-based infections, not those in the community. However, experts caution that the warning signs are clear: India's most commonly prescribed antibiotics are losing their power, and critically ill patients are already bearing the brunt. Without strict antibiotic stewardship and responsible prescribing, even routine infections could become extremely difficult—or impossible—to treat.
Calling the findings “deeply concerning,” Dr Rommel Tickoo, director of internal medicine at Max Hospital, Saket, said:
“Powerful antibiotics are failing against infections that were once straightforward to treat. This is a serious public-health challenge requiring immediate action.”
Echoing the concern, Dr Rakesh Gupta, senior consultant at Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals, added: “We're running out of effective options. In ICUs especially, our choices are shrinking fast. Rational antibiotic use is no longer optional—it is vital to protect the medicines that still work.”
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Source: EconomicTimes
Related Posts: Superbugs,drug-resistant bacteria,Antimicrobial resistance,Gram-negative bacteria,antibiotics in India,ICMR report,apollo hospitals
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