Pneumonia now resistant to antibiotics

One in 12 cases of pneumonia is now resistant to the last-line antibiotics, scientists have warned.

In 2012, about six per cent of Klebsiella pneumoniae infections showed resistance but that has now risen to 8.1 per cent, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).

Vytenis Andriukaitis, the European Commissioner for health and food safety, said: “Antibiotic resistance is one of the most pressing public health issues of our time. If we don’t tackle it, we can go back to a time when even the simplest medical operations were not possible, and organ transplants, cancer chemotherapy or intensive care even less so.”

One third of pneumonia cases in 2015 showed resistance to at least one antibiotic group with many showing resistance to several groups.

The antibiotics carbapenems and polymyxins are considered the last line of defence for infections, but bugs are increasingly evolving to evade drugs.

Dr Andrea Ammon, the acting director at ECDC, said: “Prudent use of antibiotics is pivotal, both in the community and in hospitals, to ensure that these drugs remain effective.”