ANTIBIOTIC

 

November 21, 2025

 

Antibiotic was a great discovery about 100 years ago. It saved many lives over the past century, likely someone closed to you have been protected by it, or even you, and me. 

 

 However, situation becomes more complex when it is overused.  Here is why:

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Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) happens when germs—like bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites—stop responding to the medicines used to kill them. When this happens, antibiotics and other treatments no longer work well. This makes infections harder or sometimes impossible to treat, which can lead to more people getting sick, more severe illness, and more deaths.

World AMR Awareness Week (WAAW) is a worldwide event held every year from 18 to 24 November. Its goal is to help people understand what AMR is and why it is a serious problem, and to encourage countries and communities to take action. It is one of the official health campaigns of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The theme for WAAW 2025 is:

“Act Now: Protect Our Present, Secure Our Future.”

 

This theme highlights that we must act quickly and work together to fight AMR. AMR is already affecting our health, food supply, environment, and economies. It is not just a future issue—it's happening right now. Drug-resistant infections are rising, but awareness, funding, and action are not keeping up.

Following the discussions at the 2024 United Nations meeting on AMR, everyone—including governments, health workers, veterinarians, farmers, environmental groups, and the general public—needs to turn promises into real, measurable actions that save lives.

To protect today and ensure a safer future, we must invest for the long term and take strategic action across human health, animal health, and environmental health. This includes improving tracking of drug-resistant infections, making sure everyone has access to quality medicines and tests, supporting new innovations, and building strong systems that can last.

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Projected Deaths According to local health authorities, about 87,000 Malaysians could die between 2020 and 2030 due to antimicrobial resistance if no strong intervention is made. Portal Berita+2Utusan Malaysia+2

• This projection comes from the WHO’s regional office (WPRO).

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  Resistance Trends

• Some commonly found bacteria in Malaysia — for example, E. coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae — have shown increasing resistance to antibiotics in recent years. Broadsheet Asia+1

   

  In Hospitals

• A recent (2020–2023) study in a big hospital (University Malaya Medical Center) looked at surgical site infections (SSIs). Out of the isolates from those infections, 42.1% were multidrug-resistant organisms (MDROs). BioMed Central

• AMR is a real and growing threat in Malaysia. It's not just a “future problem” — resistant infections are already causing deaths and making treatment harder.