Vaccines against 24 pathogens could reduce the number of antibiotics needed each year worldwide by 22%, or 2.5 billion defined daily doses, a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) says. to support global efforts to combat antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Some of these vaccines are already available but underutilized, while others need to be developed and brought to market as soon as possible.
AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites become unresponsive to antibiotics, making people sicker and increasing the risk of illness, death, and the spread of difficult-to-treat infections. AMR is primarily caused by the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, but at the same time, many people around the world do not have access to essential antibiotics. There are nearly 5 million AMR-related deaths worldwide each year.
Vaccines are an important part of measures to reduce AMR because they prevent infectious diseases, reduce the use and overuse of antibiotics, and slow the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens.
The new report expands on WHO research published last year in BMJ Global Health. The report found that vaccines already in use against pneumococcus, Haemophilus influenzae type B (Hib, the bacterium that causes pneumonia and meningitis), and typhoid fever account for up to 106,000 AMR-related deaths annually. It is estimated that it is possible to avoid this. An additional 543,000 AMR-related deaths per year could be avoided if new vaccines against tuberculosis (TB) and Klebsiella pneumoniae are developed and rolled out worldwide. New tuberculosis vaccines are in clinical trials, while vaccines against Klebsiella pneumoniae are in the early stages of development.
“Tackling antimicrobial resistance starts with preventing infectious diseases, and vaccines are one of the most powerful tools we have to do that,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Prevention is better than cure, and increasing access to existing vaccines and developing new vaccines for serious diseases such as tuberculosis are critical to saving lives and turning the tide on AMR. ”
Vaccines are the key to preventing infection
Vaccinated people have fewer infections and are protected from potential complications from secondary infections that may require antibiotics or hospitalization. The report analyzed the impact of vaccines already licensed and those in various stages of development.
Vaccines are given annually against:
If 90% of the world’s children and older people were vaccinated against pneumococcus, the goal of Immunization Agenda 2030, 33 million antibiotics could be saved. For typhoid fever, 45 million antibiotics could be saved if adoption was accelerated in high-burden countries. For malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum, up to 25 million antibiotic doses could be saved, but antibiotic doses are often misused to treat malaria. Tuberculosis, which can have the biggest impact once it develops, saves 1.2 to 1.9 billion antibiotic doses, which is a significant portion of the 11.3 billion antibiotic doses saved. Billions of doses are used annually for the diseases covered in this report.
Vaccines could significantly reduce the real economic costs of AMR
Globally, the cost to hospitals of treating resistant pathogens assessed in the report is estimated at US$730 billion annually. If vaccines could be deployed against all pathogens evaluated, one-third of hospital costs associated with AMR could be saved.
Preventing, diagnosing, and treating infectious diseases requires a comprehensive, human-centered approach that applies across the health care system. This approach recognizes that vaccination is central to AMR prevention and is particularly effective when combined with other interventions.
At the 79th United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR on September 26, world leaders raised the estimated 4.95 million annual deaths associated with bacterial AMR and the estimated 10% annual mortality associated with bacterial AMR. It approved a political declaration pledging clear goals and actions, including reductions. The declaration highlights key aspects such as the importance of access to vaccines, medicines, treatments and diagnostics, as well as incentives and incentives to drive multidisciplinary health research, innovation and development to address AMR. We are looking for a funding mechanism.
Note to editors:
The report, Estimating the Impact of Vaccines in Reducing Antimicrobial Resistance and Antibiotic Use, assesses the role of vaccines in reducing AMR and provides recommendations to key stakeholders to increase the impact of vaccines on AMR. We provide. The study evaluated 44 vaccines against 24 pathogens: 19 bacteria, four viruses, and one parasite. Infections can cause multiple syndromes, which vary by age group. Therefore, in some cases, multiple vaccines against one pathogen were evaluated for their impact on AMR.
Pathogens include Acinetobacter baumannii, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridioides difficile, Enterococcus faecium, enterotoxigenic E. coli (ETEC), extraintestinal pathogenic E. coli (ExPEC), group A streptococcus (GAS), and influenza. Hib, Helicobacter pylori, Kleb, Sierra pneumonia, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, non-typhoidal Salmonella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella paratyphi A, Salmonella enterica, Salmonella rubella, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, tropical Plasmodium falciparum (malaria), influenza, norovirus, rotavirus, respiratory syncytial virus (RSV).
The defined daily dose is the estimated average daily maintenance dose of an antibiotic used for its primary indication in adults.
