ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE AND THE ROLE OF HYGIENE IN ITS PREVENTION

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has quietly become one of the most serious threats to modern medicine. Bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites are evolving faster than our ability to treat them, turning once-curable infections into dangerous and sometimes deadly conditions. While the development of new drugs is slow and costly, an often underestimated weapon already exists in our hands — quite literally. This article explores how basic hygiene practices, from handwashing in hospitals to safe food handling at home, interrupt the chain of infection and reduce the need for antibiotics in the first place. Drawing on landmark studies and global reports, it argues that hygiene is not a secondary measure but a frontline strategy in the fight against resistance. The article reviews the mechanisms of resistance, examines evidence for hygiene interventions in healthcare and community settings, and highlights the One Health approach that links human, animal, and environmental health. It concludes that preventing infection through hygiene is one of the simplest, cheapest, and most immediately available tools we have to slow the march of resistant microbes