LONDON, April 2025 — A new report by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) highlights emerging resistance to Ceftazidime/avibactam, one of the National Health Service’s (NHS) most important antibiotics. Although resistance is low, public health officials are calling for a warning about how the drug is prescribed to retain its effectiveness.
Ceftazidime/avibactam has been used in NHS treatment since 2017 and is largely prescribed to treat serious infections in hospital settings caused by multidrug-resistant organisms. The UKHSA analysis of lab data from 2016 to 2020 found that 6.3% of bacterial samples tested were resistant to the drug. Resistance rates varied between the bacterial species tested, but they appeared to stabilize as routine resistance monitoring was implemented.
Almost 70% of NHS Trusts prescribed the medication during this timeframe. However, as a ‘Reserve’ antibiotic, it is used only in cases where other treatments have failed, or infection is particularly difficult to manage.
“Antibiotics are often misprescribed, and this accelerates the pace at which antibiotic resistance is naturally occurring,” said Dr Colin Brown, Deputy Director at UKHSA. “This study highlights how surveillance can inform clinical practice, which is an important aspect to consider in protecting future antibiotic treatments.” Antibiotic resistance poses a threat to the provision of modern medicine and could result in other serious health consequences, including sepsis, longer hospital admissions, and higher death rates.
Antibiotics should be used only when necessary and prescribed based on clinical need. As a result, UKHSA has launched a digital campaign called ‘Keep Antibiotics Working’, a public education campaign to inform the public about their use. The campaign aims to create a character called ‘Andi Biotic’ who will counter misinformation surrounding antibiotics – for example, many people still believe that antibiotics can treat viral conditions like the cold or flu.
The six-week campaign will share important messages such as:
Do not use antibiotics for viral infections such as colds or the flu.
Take antibiotics only as prescribed and follow instructions carefully.
Do not save leftover pills for another time.
Dr. Brown emphasized that, although creating new treatments is important, conserving the antibiotics that we have by knowing when to use them is equally important. “Everyone has a role to play,” he said. “As a patient or provider, using antibiotics thoughtfully will help us to preserve these invaluable drugs for generations.”
References: Resistance emerges to newest antibiotic. UK Health Security Agency. April 29, 2025. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/resistance-emerges-to-newest-antibiotic
