Tackling resistance effectively is complicated by enormous gaps in our knowledge about where resistance lurks and how it is spreading. Drug resistance moves invisibly through communities and clinics as microbes adapt to survive in the presence of drug therapy. This figure is a composite snapshot of drug resistance data relating to selected infectious diseases across the world. The limited information that is available to map—and only based on estimates and small-scale studies—reveals how extremely (and dangerously) weak our current knowledge about drug resistance prevalence is.
How to use the map
- Top row (HIV, pneumonia and shigella): When you click on the box next to HIV, pneumonia or shigella and then scroll over the map, bubbles will appear with prevalence information from specific studies in certain countries. Scroll over the “i” icon to read more.
- Bottom row (MDR-TB, malaria and MRSA): When you click/select a box next to MDR-TB, countries will be shaded according to the number of estimated cases of MDR-TB (in thousands). When you click/select the box next to malaria or MRSA, small icons will appear over countries for which we have resistance information. Put your cursor over the country and data on resistance will appear in the bottom row.