Dhaka, September 18, 2025: A new study has revealed that antibiotics are losing their effectiveness at an alarming rate in Bangladesh, putting both children and adults at grave risk.

The findings, presented at a seminar at icddr,b’s Mohakhali campus, came from the ARCH study (Antibiotic Resistance in Communities and Hospitals), conducted with support from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the Task Force for Global Health, and the Directorate General of Health Services.

First Shocking Signs

In its first phase in 2019, researchers found that:

• 78% of healthy people and 82% of hospital patients carried cephalosporin-resistant bacteria.
• Carbapenem-resistant organisms (CRE) were detected in 37% of hospitalized patients and 9% of community members.
• Colistin-resistant bacteria appeared in 11% of community samples and 7% of hospital samples.
• One in five people carried MRSA, a dangerous drug-resistant staph infection.

Analysis of more than 2,600 bacterial genomes showed wide diversity, making it harder for a single antibiotic to work across different strains.

Situation Worsened by 2023

The second phase of the study painted an even bleaker picture, especially for newborns and ICU patients:

• 81% of babies in neonatal intensive care were infected with drug-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae.
• 70% of newborns hospitalized for more than two days later contracted the bacteria.
• 60% of adult ICU patients carried CRE.
• Within a year, 40% of children carried CRE, and 90% carried cephalosporin-resistant bacteria.
• 80% of children received antibiotics at least once during the year, disrupting their natural microbiome.

Researchers warned that these points point to a looming crisis: antibiotics are failing across all age groups.

How to Slow the Spread

The study found that basic infection control measures can make a significant difference. Regular handwashing by healthcare workers and strict adherence to hospital hygiene protocols significantly reduced the risk of resistant bacteria spreading and causing deadly bloodstream infections.

Policy Response

Officials urged urgent action.

• Dr. Md. Sayedur Rahman, Ministry of Health: Called the findings “alarming but valuable” for shaping future policy.
• Dr. Tahmeed Ahmed, Executive Director of icddr,b: Said powerful antibiotics should face the same sales restrictions as sleeping pills.
• Brian Wheeler, Acting Country Director of CDC, stressed that the crisis is not only medical but also an issue of health economics and national policy.

Senior representatives of IEDCR, DGHS, and the Health Ministry echoed these concerns, warning that without immediate intervention, Bangladesh could face a devastating wave of untreatable infections.