India is grappling with a growing public-health crisis as data from the ICMR’s latest surveillance report confirms a sharp increase in antibiotic resistance across the country. The findings signal that many common infections are becoming harder and in some cases nearly impossible to treat with routinely used drugs. According to the 2024 report by the ICMR’s Antimicrobial Resistance Research & Surveillance Network (AMRSN) analysis of nearly one lakh laboratory samples from both public and private hospitals revealed that everyday antibiotics are losing their potency.
The report highlighted drastically reduced effectiveness of key antibiotics such as fluoroquinolones, third-generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and piperacillin-tazobactam. Common bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and others responsible for urinary tract infections, pneumonia, sepsis, typhoid and other diseases have shown high resistance rates even in intensive care units.
One indicator of the severity: susceptibility of E. coli to important antibiotics like cefotaxime, ceftazidime, ciprofloxacin and levofloxacin has fallen below 20 percent in many cases. Meanwhile, resistance to last-resort drugs such as carbapenems continues to escalate, limiting treatment options for severe hospital-acquired infections.
Medical experts and public-health authorities warn that if decisive action is not taken, routine infections once easily curable may turn into life-threatening conditions. The ICMR emphasises urgent need for stronger antibiotic-stewardship, rational prescribing, improved hospital infection-control protocols, regulation of over-the-counter antibiotic sales and accelerated research into new antimicrobials.
“With antibiotic resistance growing every year, our standard tools are losing effectiveness. This is a red flag for the entire healthcare system,” said a senior ICMR official. As India battles this silent epidemic, policymakers, clinicians and society at large must come together to preserve existing antibiotics, enforce responsible usage and protect millions from the threat of “superbugs.”
