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PUBLIC HEALTH

A climate for antibiotic resistance

Nature Climate Change volume 8, pages 460–461 (2018)Cite this article

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Antibiotic resistance is a growing global health crisis. Research now suggests that higher local temperatures are associated with a greater incidence of resistant infections.

Antibiotics underpin modern medicine. They are commonly used to treat bacterial infections in humans and animals, and as a result we think of many infections as simple inconveniences that we can readily treat. Many medical procedures (such as joint replacement, cancer chemotherapy and organ transplantation) would not be possible without antibiotic treatments. However, bacterial infections are becoming harder to treat as bacteria evolve to survive treatment with antibiotic drugs; this constitutes antibiotic resistance and it is a rapidly growing issue. Increased use of antibiotics globally continues to fuel the resistance problem, while the slow rate of new drug discovery means that we have few options to replace drugs as they become ineffective. The fundamental predicament is that as the incidence of antibiotic-resistant infections continues to rise our ability to treat these infections diminishes, which means that more people will die. This is often referred to as a potential return to the dark ages of medicine, where simple infections will once again kill. Understanding the causes and drivers of antibiotic resistance is critical to tackling this issue effectively.

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References

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Microbiology and Infection, College of Medical and Dental Sciences, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK

    Jessica M. A. Blair

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  1. Jessica M. A. Blair
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Correspondence to Jessica M. A. Blair.

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Blair, J.M.A. A climate for antibiotic resistance. Nature Clim Change 8, 460–461 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0183-0

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-018-0183-0

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