NEW FRONTIERS IN PHARMACEUTICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY: ADDRESSING THE GLOBAL BURDEN OF INFECTIOUS DISEASES
CHISOM FLORA KALU1*, VINCENT CHIMA OKORE1
- Department of Pharmaceutical Microbiology and Biotechnology, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Nigeria.
Afr. J Pharm Res Dev; Volume 17(1): 53-68 ; 2025
ABSTRACT
Infectious diseases have persisted as an intractable challenge to human civilization, bringing along enormous health and economic burdens to the world’s population. This problem cuts across all the regions of the world and various income strata. Periodic analyses of the problem conducted by organisations, such as the World Health Organisation, and the Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation, portray the low-to-medium income countries (LMICs), mostly Caribbean countries, South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, as bearing the heaviest measure of the burden, compared to the developed countries. Characterisations, such as “infectious diseases of poverty (IDoPs)” are associated with these regions where high rates of morbidity and mortality are recorded as the result of inadequate healthcare facilities, including therapeutic and prophylactic tools. These inadequacies have resulted in widespread misuse of antibiotics in the treatment of bacterial and, unnecessarily, viral infections, with the consequential global explosion of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). However, there is growing understanding of the mechanisms of microbial resistance to antibiotics. And “battle of wits” is ongoing between the continually mutative microbes and the unrelenting bio-experts. This review highlights some recorded health and economic challenges that are attributed to microbial infections and antimicrobial resistance. It equally provides some insight into the scientific advancements being made at the global stage in the battle to eradicate the double scourges of infectious diseases and AMR.
Keywords: Microbial burdens, Infectious diseases, Antimicrobial resistance, Antimicrobial innovations
Email of correspondence: flora.okore.178618@unn.edu.ng;
https://doi.org/10.59493/ajopred/2025.1.7 ISSN: 0794-800X (print); 1596-2431 (online)