--- title: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria Now in Every Region of the World, WHO Says description: The first in-depth report to look at antibiotic resistance around the world shows that drug-resistant bugs now inhabit every region of the globe, and pose a threat to public health everywhere. canonical: https://time.com/82528/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-are-now-in-every-part-of-the-world/ author: Alice Park article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-04-30T15:05:46.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T07:34:49.674Z article:section: Health og:title: Bacteria are resistant to last-resort antibiotics, and that's bad news for more than just our immune systems og:description: The first in-depth report to look at antibiotic resistance around the world shows that drug-resistant bugs now inhabit every region of the globe, and pose a threat to public health everywhere. og:url: https://time.com/82528/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria-are-now-in-every-part-of-the-world/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Bacteria are resistant to last-resort antibiotics, and that's bad news for more than just our immune systems twitter:description: The first in-depth report to look at antibiotic resistance around the world shows that drug-resistant bugs now inhabit every region of the globe, and pose a threat to public health everywhere. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Are Now In Every Part of the World > Sponsored content. 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Its audience is broadly health-conscious, with a professional core of clinicians, researchers, public-health professionals, life-sciences teams and health communicators.  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Apr 30, 2014 3:05 PM UTC  by [Alice Park](https://time.com/author/alice-park/)  ## Alice Park Senior Correspondent Apr 30, 2014 3:05 PM UTC In a first-of-its-kind report, [World Health Organization (WHO)](http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2014/amr-report/en/) announced today that bacterial infections that can’t be treated with the antibiotics of last resort have emerged in every part of the world, which means that patients who pick up E. coli, pneumonia or staph infections don’t have an effective way to control their illnesses. In some countries, more than half of people infected with _K. pneumonia_ bacteria won’t respond to carbapenems. A similar percentage of patients with _E. coli_ infections won’t be helped by taking fluoroquinolone antibiotics. **MORE:** [New Report Says FDA Allowed “High Risk” Antibiotics to Be Used on Farm Animals](http://time.com/2825/new-report-claims-fda-allowed-high-risk-antibiotics-to-be-used-on-farm-animals/) The growth of drug-resistant strains of bacteria means infections are either harder or impossible to control, which could lead to quicker spread of diseases and higher death rates, especially among hospital patients. But even more concerning, say experts like Dr. Martin Blaser, director of the human microbiome program at the New York University Langone Medical Center and author of _Missing Microbes_, is how these antibiotics are affecting the makeup of both good and bad bacteria that live within us – our [microbiome](http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/14/the-good-bugs-how-the-germs-in-your-body-keep-you-healthy/). “The first big cost of antibiotics is resistance,” he says. “But the other side of the coin is \[the fact that\] antibiotics are extinguishing our microbiome and changing human development.” **MORE:** [The Good Bugs: How the Germs in Your Body Keep You Healthy](http://healthland.time.com/2012/06/14/the-good-bugs-how-the-germs-in-your-body-keep-you-healthy/) By that, Blaser is referring to growing research that shows that the trillions of bacteria that live in and on our bodies play a critical role in our health. Bacteria and microbes aren’t always enemies of a healthy body, but can be allies as well, helping us to digest food, fight off disease-causing bugs, and more. Early studies suggest that different communities of bacteria in the gut, for example, may affect our [risk of obesity](http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1969807,00.html) and of developing certain cancers. Other intriguing work hints that babies born vaginally and are exposed to their mother’s reproductive tract flora, may develop different immune systems that better prepare them to combat allergens compared to those who are [born via Cesarean section](http://healthland.time.com/2012/05/24/are-cesarean-sections-contributing-to-childhood-obesity/). But overuse of antibiotics is slowing wiping out the good bacteria with the bad, and that may have serious consequences for public health years from now, warns Blaser. The WHO report highlights how individual decisions about prescribing antibiotics can have more widespread, even global consequences. “If I prescribe a heart medicine for a patient, that heart medicine is going to affect that patient,” says Blaser. “But if I prescribe an antibiotic, that antibiotic will affect the entire community to some degree. And the effect is cumulative.” **MORE:** [A Hidden Trigger of Obesity: Intestinal Bugs](http://content.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1969807,00.html) The first step in pushing back, public health experts say, is to reduce our over-prescription of antibiotics for minor infections that don’t necessarily require them, and that applies to both people and food-producing animals such as poultry and livestock. Animals can harbor and pass on drug-resistant bacteria as well as people can, and expanded use of antibiotics in agriculture in recent years has contributed to the growth of more aggressive bugs. In the home, people can refrain from using antibacterial soaps, which also push bacteria to become resistant. “What we urgently need is a solid global plan of action which provides for the rational use of antibiotics so that quality-assured antibiotics reach those who need them, but are not overused or priced beyond reach,” says Dr. Jennifer Cohn, medical director of Doctors Without Borders’ Access Campaign. That may also help to protect our microbiomes, which in turn could slow the appearance of chronic diseases such as obesity, cancer and allergies. 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