HQ Team
October 13, 2024: Vaccines against 24 pathogens could cut the number of antibiotics needed to fight antimicrobial resistance by 2.5 billion daily doses or 22% globally, according to a World Health Organization report.
“Addressing antimicrobial resistance starts with preventing infections, and vaccines are among the most powerful tools for doing that,” said Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General.
“Prevention is better than cure, and increasing access to existing vaccines and developing new ones for critical diseases, like tuberculosis, is critical to saving lives and turning the tide on antimicrobial resistance.”
The report, “Estimating the impact of vaccines in reducing antimicrobial resistance and antibiotic use,” evaluates the role of vaccines in reducing antimicrobial resistance and provides key stakeholders with recommendations for enhancing the impact of vaccines on the resistance.
It evaluated 44 vaccines targeting 24 pathogens — 19 bacteria, four viruses and one parasite. Infections can result in multiple syndromes and vary across age groups. In several cases, more than one vaccine for a pathogen was evaluated for its impact on antimicrobial resistance.
Illness, death
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines, making people sicker and increasing the risk of illness, death and the spread of infections that are difficult to treat.
While some of these vaccines are already available but underused, others would need to be developed and brought to the market as soon as possible, according to the report.
Antimicrobial resistance is driven largely by the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials, yet, at the same time, many people around the world do not have access to essential antimicrobials. Each year, nearly 5 million deaths are associated with antimicrobial resistance worldwide.
The new report expands on a WHO study published in BMJ Global Health last year. It estimates that vaccines already in use against pneumococcus pneumonia, Haemophilus influenzae type B or Hib — a bacteria causing pneumonia and meningitis, and typhoid — could avert up to 106,000 of the deaths associated with AMR each year.
Slow emergence and spread
An additional 543,000 deaths associated with the resistance could be averted annually when new vaccines for tuberculosis (TB) and Klebsiella pneumoniae, are developed and rolled out globally.
New TB vaccines are in clinical trials, one against Klebsiella pneumoniae is in the early stage of development.
Vaccines are an essential part of the response to reduce antimicrobial resistance as they prevent infections, reduce the use and overuse of antimicrobials, and slow the emergence and spread of drug-resistant pathogens.
Vaccinated people have fewer infections and are protected against potential complications from secondary infections that may need antimicrobial medicines or require hospital admission.
The report analyzed the impact of already licensed vaccines and vaccines in various stages of development. Vaccines against Streptococcus pneumoniae could save 33 million antibiotic doses yearly if the Immunization Agenda 2030 target of 90% of the world’s children and older adults were reached.
Tuberculosis
Vaccines for typhoid could save 45 million antibiotic doses if their introduction was accelerated in high-burden countries and vaccines for malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum could save up to 25 million antibiotic doses, which are often misused to try to treat malaria.
Tuberculosis could have the highest impact once they are developed, saving between 1.2 to 1.9 billion antibiotic doses — a significant portion of the 11.3 billion doses used annually against the diseases.
Hospital costs of treating resistant pathogens, evaluated in the report, are estimated at $730 billion each year, according to the report. If vaccines could be rolled out against all the evaluated pathogens, they could save a third of the hospital costs associated with antimicrobial resistance.
A comprehensive, people-centred approach applied across health systems is needed to prevent, diagnose and treat infections. This approach recognizes vaccination as core to preventing antimicrobial resistance and is especially impactful when combined with other interventions, the WHO stated.
At the 79th United Nations General Assembly High-Level Meeting on antimicrobial resistance on 26 September, world leaders approved a political declaration committing to a clear set of targets and actions, including reducing the estimated 4.95 million human deaths associated with bacterial antimicrobial resistance annually by 10% by 2030.
