Vaccination is an integral strategy to combat antimicrobial resistance
Liam Mullins, Emily Mason, Kaitlin Winter, Manish Sadarangani
Abstract
Antimicrobial-resistant bacterial infections pose a significant challenge to health worldwide. In 2019, there were an estimated 1.95 million deaths and 47.9 million lost disability-adjusted life-years attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) Over the last 30 years, there has been a stall in the development of new antibiotics while incidence rates of AMR climb [2]. The global AMR crisis is on-track to cause approximately 10 million deaths annually by 2050 [1]. Several pathogens contribute to this, including Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae, and Mycobacterium tuberculosis [1,3]. Targeted interventions to combat AMR, such as vaccines, are essential in conjunction with the continued pursuit of antibiotic discovery and engagement with equitable antibiotic stewardship policies. Many bacterial vaccines are already included in publicly funded vaccination programs and developing technologies in vaccine platforms has the potential to address AMR equitably and effectively [4]. Vaccines have the potential to reduce antibiotic usage at the population level, reduce the spread of bacterial resistance determinants, and decrease transmission of resistant bacteria (Fig 1).