They are also a clear signal that immediate action is required “if we want to stay one step ahead in the race against antimicrobial resistance,” the expert noted.

Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan, of the Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy, in Washington, DC, said global spending to tackle resistant infections must rise to levels seen for other diseases.

“Spending should be directed at preventing infections in the first place, making sure existing antibiotics are used appropriately and judiciously, and bringing new antibiotics to market,” he said.

Sally Davies, an expert on antibiotic resistance and a former senior health adviser to the British government, has said in the past that resistance is a “silent pandemic” that the world must deal with.

Urgent and global actions during the current covid pandemic can show the way forward.

“One of the great achievements of the last two years is the commitment to adopt infection prevention and control measures, basic hygiene measures, and vaccination campaigns. These types of measures are also necessary to combat the growing resistance of organisms to antibiotics, and now is a good time to encourage a similar commitment by different social actors,” Gisela Robles Aguilar told BBC Mundo.

“Access to information in a fast, open and transparent manner has contributed to combating covid-19 and is essential to monitor the increase in the use of antibiotics in the health sector as well as in the veterinary and food production sectors,” added the scientific.

“We need to constantly measure antibiotic use and resistance to understand the problem of resistance and generate solutions. And, of course, the responsible use of antibiotics is a task in which we can all contribute”.