article · MicrobiologyOpen
Antimicrobial resistance poses a severe threat to public health across human, animal, and environmental domains. The proliferation of resistant superbugs is driven by the misuse of antibiotics and other agents, including biocides and heavy metals, across agriculture, healthcare, and veterinary practice. Resistance genes and drug-resistant microbes spread through key environmental hotspots such as wastewater treatment facilities, hospitals, livestock operations, and pharmaceutical factories. Mitigating this crisis demands a One Health approach that integrates global and national action plans, enhanced surveillance, antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, and accurate diagnostics. Several innovative solutions offer alternatives to conventional antimicrobials, including bacteriophage therapy, antimicrobial peptides, probiotics, nanotechnology, immunotherapies, CRISPR-Cas systems, and artificial intelligence. However, the practical deployment of these counter-strategies is hindered by regulatory hurdles and resource constraints.
Antimicrobial resistance compromises the effectiveness of modern medicine, putting routine healthcare, animal welfare, and food production at risk. Because resistance develops and travels across interconnected ecosystems, effective solutions require a coordinated One Health response. Identifying environmental contamination hotspots and developing novel alternative treatments are critical steps to prevent untreatable bacterial infections globally.
The work highlights opportunities for biotechnology and pharmaceutical developers to commercialise alternative antimicrobials, including bacteriophages, peptide-based therapies, CRISPR systems, and nanotechnology-driven interventions. Diagnostic providers and environmental monitoring firms could also target hotspots such as wastewater facilities and farms. However, because these technologies represent early-stage alternatives and broad strategy overviews, commercial deployment remains distant and constrained by regulatory frameworks and resource limitations.
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Currently, one of the major global public health concerns that impacts humans, animals, and the environment is antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It poses serious problems for contemporary medicine by casting doubt on the effectiveness of antibiotics and other antimicrobials. The main causes of environmental AMR include the abuse of antibiotics and nonantibiotic substances, such as biocides and heavy metals, in veterinary care, agriculture, and healthcare, which hasten the generation of resistant superbugs. The dissemination of drug-resistant microbes and genetic elements is aided by environmental hotspots, such as hospitals, wastewater treatment facilities, livestock farms, and pharmaceutical production facilities. The Global Action Plan, National Action Plan, antimicrobial stewardship initiatives, improved surveillance, precise diagnostics, infection prevention and control, and the concept of One Health are all components of the multidimensional strategy needed to combat AMR. Promising alternative therapies to conventional treatments include antimicrobial peptides, bacteriophage therapy, immunotherapies, nanotechnology, probiotics, clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats-Cas system, and artificial intelligence. The concept of One Health, recognizing the interdependence of human, animal, and ecosystem health, offers a holistic strategy for addressing AMR. However, implementing these strategies presents significant challenges, including resource limitations and regulatory barriers. This review tries to give a complete picture of AMR by focusing on the main factors that cause it and the hotspots that promote the acquisition of resistance genes. Additionally, it examines approaches to counteract AMR and the obstacles encountered in their execution.
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DOI: 10.1002/mbo3.70067
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