The World Health Organization released a report, "Assessing the Impact of Vaccines on Reducing Antibiotic Resistance and Antibiotic Prescriptions," and outlined its key findings in a press release. According to the report, a global vaccination campaign against 24 major pathogens could reduce the need for antibiotics by 22 percent, equivalent to 2.5 billion daily doses annually.
Antimicrobial resistance is a major threat to public health and development, discussed at the UN General Assembly. According to WHO estimates, it caused 4.9 million deaths worldwide in 2019. The overuse of antibiotics in human health, veterinary medicine, and agriculture is a key driver of resistance. In 2019, the use of these drugs in animals decreased by 13 percent compared to 2017, but still amounted to 84,500 tons. Meanwhile, their use in humans increased by 65 percent from 2000 to 2015 and is projected to triple by 2030. One of the most important methods for combating antibiotic resistance is increasing vaccination coverage.
A new WHO report examines the potential effects of 44 vaccines against 24 major pathogens: 19 bacteria, one protist, and four viruses. These include Acinetobacter baumannii, Campylobacter jejuni, Clostridioides difficile, Enterococcus faecium, enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli, extraintestinal pathogenic Escherichia coli, group A Streptococcus, Haemophilus influenzae type B, Helicobacter pylori, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, nontyphoidal Salmonella species, Salmonella paratyphoid A, Salmonella typhi, Shigella, Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Plasmodium falciparum (the causative agent of malaria), influenza viruses, noroviruses, rotaviruses, and respiratory syncytial virus.
Vaccines against most of these pathogens are commercially available but underused, while vaccines against several others are in various stages of development. According to the WHO, adequate coverage with existing vaccinations against three infections—pneumococcal pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type B, and typhoid—could prevent 106,000 antibiotic-resistant deaths annually. Completion of the development and widespread introduction of new vaccines against tuberculosis (already in clinical trials) and Klebsiella (in early preclinical stages) could increase this number by 543,000. Together, this could save over 37 million disability-adjusted life years annually, reduce healthcare costs by approximately $32 billion, and prevent nearly $26 billion in lost productivity.
Each year, 11.3 billion daily doses of antibiotics are used to treat these infections. With adequate vaccination coverage, this amount could be reduced by 22 percent, equivalent to 2.5 billion doses per year. The development and implementation of tuberculosis vaccines is of the greatest importance—they could reduce the use of these medications by 1.2–1.9 billion doses. Vaccination against typhoid fever could save 45 million doses, against streptococcal pneumonia 33 million, and against malaria 25 million.
Therefore, to combat antibiotic resistance, measures are needed to ensure global vaccination coverage, including for older age groups; accelerate the development and introduction of new vaccines; include resistance-related endpoints in clinical trials; and timely collect and analyze data on the impact of vaccination on the spread of resistance and antibiotic use, WHO experts conclude.
The article "The End of a Beautiful Era" discusses how a gene for resistance to a last-resort antibiotic was first discovered in bacteria, as well as the nature of antibiotic resistance in general.
