Upcoming Multi-drug-Resistant and Extensively Drug-Resistant Bacteria

Abstract

Multi-drug-resistant (MDR) and extensively drug-resistant (XDR) bacteria are becoming a serious global health issue, which may soon become untreatable by clinicians. Since the invention of antibiotics, inappropriate consumption, non-prescribed drugs, overuse, and hoarding have caused the rapid emergence of MDR and XDR bacteria. The ESKAPE pathogens (Enterococcus faecium, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Enterobacter spp.) cause many nosocomial infections and thus escape the biocidal action of the antibiotic. Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria have acquired self-defense tools like ESBL (extended spectrum beta-lactamase), a mutation in porin genes, biofilm production, and many more to develop multi-drug resistance. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) endangers patients' treatment as it causes high mortality and morbidity rates, economic loss of both patient and country, and prolonged hospital stay. To combat upcoming MDR and XDR bacteria, it is essential to design novel therapeutic techniques to eradicate such resistant bacteria via burgeoning technologies like nanoparticles, CRISPER-Cas9, genetic engineering, and synthetic biology.