WHO Global Report on Antimicrobial Resistance Sheds Light on Growing Threat

A new report released by the WHO Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS) examines the global and regional resistance trends for 16 pathogen–antibiotic combinations and provides guidance for establishing support for regions falling behind.

The report is based on more than 23 million bacteriologically confirmed infections reported by 104 countries between 2016 and 2023.

Antibiotic resistance is a growing threat to global health because it prevents life-saving treatments from working. Antibiotic resistance is a natural process by which genetic changes in pathogens render certain antibiotics ineffective over time.

One of the main drivers of resistance is the overuse of antibiotics, which causes pathogens to adapt quicker than normal. It’s estimated that antibiotic resistance was directly responsible for 1.27 million global deaths in 2019 and contributed to 4.95 million deaths, according to a separate WHO report.

As a result, antimicrobial resistance threatens the ability to treat infections in humans.

The 2025 GLASS report provides the latest data concerning this issue.