The AMR Narrative

Facebook X-twitter Instagram Linkedin Youtube
Menu

What is Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)?

 

AMR is an acronym for Antimicrobial Resistance.  

AMR is a natural phenomenon where microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to become resistant to the antimicrobial medicines that were designed to treat them. This means that the medicines become less effective or completely ineffective in treating the infections caused by these resistant microorganisms.

AMR is a growing public health concern worldwide, as it poses a threat to the effectiveness of many commonly used antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines. It can lead to longer illnesses, increased healthcare costs, and in some cases, even death.

Antimicrobials can be grouped according to the microorganisms they target. For example, antifungals treat fungi, antibiotics treat bacteria, antivirals treat viruses, and antiparasitics treat parasites.

One of the major contributors to AMR is the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials.

Some examples of this overuse include human health where doctors sometimes prescribe antibiotics based on symptoms a patient presents rather than a confirmed diagnosis. Common medical conditions where antibiotics are prescribed unnecessarily are flu, colds, and COVID-19 which are caused by viruses as opposed to bacteria. 

Some common conditions that rely on antimicrobials include (not limited to):

  • The use of antimicrobial medicines whilst undergoing Cancer treatment
  • Using antibiotics to prevent or treat bacterial infections during or after surgery
  • Urinary Tract Infections (UTIs or sometimes also called Bladder Infections)
  • Organ transplants, prosthetic implants, and amputations are at a high risk of infection and rely on antibiotics to treat them if they occur
  • Tuberculosis and some other respiratory infections which rely on antibiotics
  • Various zoonotic diseases (i.e. human diseases caused by insects and animals) such as malaria where antimalarial medicines are used and Lyme disease caused by ticks
  • Bacterial infections caused by food including Listeria and Salmonella
  • In dentistry, only when infections appear
  • Where patients are immune-compromised such as those living with HIV/AIDS or a rare disease
  • Mothers and newborns where infections can be caused during childbirth including maternal sepsis

Antibiotics

treat bacterial infections

Antivirals

treat viral infections

Antifungals

treat fungal infections

Antiparasitics

treat parasitic infections

One Health: Antimicrobials in humans, animals, food production and the environment

The use of antimicrobials in animal farming and food production can have a significant impact on human health and the environment, highlighting the importance of a One Health approach. This approach recognizes that human health, animal health, and environmental health are all interconnected.

The use of antimicrobials in animal farming can lead to the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the animals and the environment. This can result in the spread of resistant bacteria to humans through direct contact, consumption of contaminated food, or exposure to contaminated soil, water, and air. Once these bacteria infect humans, it can be difficult to treat them with antibiotics, which can lead to longer illness, increased healthcare costs, and higher mortality rates.

In addition, the use of antimicrobials in animal farming can also have an impact on the environment, as it can contribute to the development of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in soil, water, and other ecosystems. This can impact the health of wildlife and contribute to the spread of resistant bacteria to humans.

Therefore, it is important to use antimicrobials responsibly and only when necessary, both in animal farming and human medicine. A One Health approach that involves collaboration between human health, animal health, and environmental health sectors is necessary to address the issue of AMR and reduce the risk to humans.

RAISING VOICES FOR AMR NEWSLETTER

Sign up to receive the latest news including upcoming events, programmes, AMR educational and advocacy resources and fundraising opportunities.

Subscribe

Chris Shaffer

Chris Shaffer was a music, special education teacher, and high school principal for 45 years. At the end of his educational career, he was thrust into the world of AMR infections when a number of abdominal surgeries left him with an E-coli infection which failed to respond to antibiotics. After doctors in the USA left him with little hope for a cure, diminishing health, and a bleak prognosis, he set out on his own.

Chris found success in phage therapy at the Eliava Phage Therapy Center in Tbilisi, Georgia. With phage therapy giving Chris his life back, he has dedicated his retirement years to advocating for and helping raise awareness of phage therapy used for AMR infections. He tells the story of his phage journey in a book titled, Finding Phage: How I Partnered with a Friendly Virus to Cure My Deadly Bacterial Superinfection. His website, phagetherpyusa.com helps others learn to understand the healing power of phage therapy.

Demi Christofi

Demi is an Associate Scientific Director at a medical communications agency, with a background in microbiology and a longstanding focus on antimicrobial resistance. She holds an MSc in Microbiology, where she first became interested in the global challenge of resistance and the need to bring scientific understanding to wider audiences.

Demi’s career has centred on a simple but powerful belief: that how we communicate science matters. Her work focuses on making complex data clear, engaging, and accessible – whether for healthcare professionals, policy makers, or the patients most affected by infection and resistance. She has contributed to a wide range of AMR-focused projects, including educational programmes, congress communications and stewardship initiatives.

A central thread in Demi’s work is the importance of the patient voice. She is passionate about making sure real-world experiences of treatment failure, recurrent infections, and the anxiety surrounding resistance are not lost in the data. She believes that listening to patients and involving them meaningfully is essential for shaping more effective, human-centred responses to AMR.

Demi is also a strong advocate of the One Health approach, recognising AMR as a complex, interconnected issue that spans human health, animal health, and the environment. She is particularly drawn to efforts that move beyond siloed thinking and focus on practical, joined-up solutions.

In 2025, Demi joined The AMR Narrative as an Independent Advisor, where she supports the charity’s mission to centre communication, community, and inclusion in the global AMR response.

Outside of work, she is a Girlguiding unit leader and a qualified yoga teacher. These roles reflect her commitment to care, learning, and creating supportive spaces for others.

Andrea Hartley

Andrea has worked in health communications and campaigning for 3 decades. She is committed to fighting AMR through timely and appropriate communications globally,.

Andrea set up Skating Panda, the creative social and environmental impact consultancy, over a decade ago and drives its impact and growth. Focused on original and lasting public interest communications as well as issue strategy and advocacy, the Panda team has a track record of prompting tipping points in the status quo that drive better social and planetary outcomes.

Andrea’s combination of commercial marketing and development experience with deep issue knowledge have been sought by decision-makers at global summits, corporate and NGO board members, and have enabled her to set up multi-million fundraising platforms and push through policies that change and save lives. 

Andrea is Vice Chair of mothers2mothers, the world’s largest employer of women living with HIV, and a Board Director of Maymessy, a food poverty social enterprise.

A lifelong advocate for gender equality, she played a key role in establishing the UK’s Women’s Equality Party.

Esmita Charani

Professor Esmita Charani is a pharmacist and researcher investigating how we use antibiotics in different cultural and social contexts. She works with teams in the UK, India, and South Africa to develop research programmes investigating all aspects of antimicrobial resistance in human populations with a focus in hospital settings.

She has experience in communicating her research with patients and the public through various media including animations, blogs, and educational videos.