Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is no longer a distant threat. It’s here and it’s one of the biggest public health crises of our time. The ability to treat infections with antibiotics was once a medical breakthrough but today, resistant bacteria, fungi, and viruses are making common infections harder to cure, putting millions of lives at risk each year.
A rich text element can be used with static or dynamic content. For static content, just drop it into any page and begin editing. For dynamic content, add a rich text field to any collection and then connect a rich text element to that field in the settings panel. Voila!
Headings, paragraphs, blockquotes, figures, images, and figure captions can all be styled after a class is added to the rich text element using the "When inside of" nested selector system.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is no longer a distant threat. It’s here and it’s one of the biggest public health crises of our time. The ability to treat infections with antibiotics was once a medical breakthrough but today, resistant bacteria, fungi, and viruses are making common infections harder to cure, putting millions of lives at risk each year.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is no longer a distant threat. It’s here and it’s one of the biggest public health crises of our time. The ability to treat infections with antibiotics was once a medical breakthrough but today, resistant bacteria, fungi, and viruses are making common infections harder to cure, putting millions of lives at risk each year.
While AMR affects all areas of medicine, vaginal health remains an overlooked priority. Antibiotics and antifungals are still the default treatments for vaginal infections, fuelling a cycle of resistance and recurrence. The question isn’t whether we need new solutions – it’s where we need them most and how we can make the biggest impact.
Antimicrobial resistance happens when bacteria, fungi, viruses, or parasites evolve to resist the treatments that once worked against them. While resistance develops naturally over time, human actions have dramatically sped up the process. Here’s how:
The impact is staggering. In 2019, AMR directly caused 1.27 million deaths worldwide and contributed to 4.95 million deaths overall. By 2050, AMR could be responsible for 10 million deaths every year, overtaking cancer as a leading cause of mortality.
AMR threatens the very foundation of modern medicine. Without effective antimicrobials, common infections, minor injuries, and routine medical procedures become significantly more dangerous. Surgeries, cancer treatments, and organ transplants all rely on antibiotics to prevent and treat infections. Without them, these life-saving procedures carry far greater risks.
The economic impact is just as serious. The World Bank estimates that AMR could add $1 trillion in healthcare costs by 2050 and could cut global GDP by $1-3.4 trillion by 2030.
AMR affects many areas of healthcare, turning conditions that were once easy to treat into serious threats. Here are some the key areas at highest risk due to antimicrobial resistance:
Common procedures like cesarean sections, joint replacements, and organ transplants all rely on antibiotics to prevent post-operative infections. Without effective antibiotics, infections after surgery could become a leading cause of death. Drug-resistant bacteria like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are already making hospital-acquired infections harder to treat.
Cancer patients often have weakened immune systems due to chemotherapy, making them more vulnerable to infections. Many need antibiotics to prevent or treat bacterial infections during chemotherapy. With AMR on the rise, infections that were once easily treated could become untratable, making cancer treatment much higher risk.
Tuberculosis (TB) is a bacterial infection that usually affects the lungs. TB is becoming a major challenge when it comes to AMR. Research shows that 3.5% of new TB cases and 18% of previously treated TB cases are resistant to multiple drugs. Even more concerning is extensively drug-resistant TB (XDR-TB), which leaves almost no effective treatment options available.
Respiratory infections like pneumonia are a leading cause of death worldwide, especially in children. Many of these infections are becoming resistant to first-line antibiotics like penicillin, making them harder to treat. There are also emerging strains of drug-resistant flu, increasing the need for non-antibiotic treatments.
UTIs are one of the most common bacterial infections, affecting millions of people each year, especially women. These infections are usually easy to treat with antibiotics, but rising AMR is making them harder to cure. Drug-resistant E. coli, the leading cause of UTIs, is spreading globally. One study found E. coli had a 50% resistance rate for at least five antimicrobials. This leads to recurrent infections and a higher risk of complications like kidney infections.
Vaginal health is rarely discussed in the context of AMR but at UVISA, we know it’s an overlooked priority. With limited research and solutions focusing on vaginal health, antibiotic and antifungal treatments remain some of the only available options. Overuse of these solutions not only contributes to AMR, but damages the vaginal microbiome, leading to a repeat infection.
Bacterial Vaginosis (BV) is one of the most common vaginal infections, with an alarmingly high recurrence rate. Studies show that more than 60% of cases return within three months of antibiotic treatment. Standard drugs like metronidazole and clindamycin are becoming less effective thanks to AMR. Plus, antibiotic use can disrupt the delicate balance of the vaginal microbiome by destroying the helpful bacteria, lactobacilli. This leaves many women stuck in a frustrating cycle of recurrent BV and overuse of antibiotics.
With antibiotics becoming less effective, it’s time to rethink how we treat infections. At UVISA, we’re harnessing the power of light therapy – a drug-free, microbiome-friendly solution that targets harmful bacteria and fungi without contributing to AMR.
Light therapy had a long history before antibiotics and now we’re making it the future. We know that specific wavelengths of light can effectively kill harmful microbes without damaging healthy cells. So, we’re bringing this technology to vaginal health.
UVISA’s solution uses precisely calibrated UVA and blue light to target infection without disrupting the body’s natural microbiome. This approach will be revolutionary for vaginal health, offering a way to:
Beyond vaginal infections, light therapy has the potential to transform infection treatment across healthcare, from wound healing to hospital infection control. Reducing reliance on antibiotics and developing alternative solutions is essential in tackling the AMR crisis.
Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time. While solutions are needed across all sectors, addressing AMR in vaginal health is an overlooked priority. At UVISA, we’re changing that.
The fight against AMR isn’t just about developing new antibiotics, it’s about rethinking how we treat infections altogether. We believe light therapy is a key piece of that puzzle. By reducing our reliance on pharmaceutical drugs, we’re not just slowing the rate of resistance; we’re offering women a safer, science-backed solution for recurrent infections.
Sources:
