Infection control in the post-antibiotic era

There are enormous challenges facing infection control in the 21st century. Countries across the world are confronted by ageing populations, restricted healthcare resources, demands for modern medicine and increasing antimicrobial resistance. Problempathogens in the community are set to invade hospitals, and those created in hospitals are seeding into the community. Continued consumption of antimicrobial agents is generating and consolidating resistance to nearly all classes of drugs. New resistance mechanisms arising in one locality rapidly spread across the ‘global village’ courtesy of migration, conflict and international travel. We are facing unprecedented threats to the management of infection both in healthcare and communities across the world. This review summarises the current challenges for infection control and proposes a range of solutions encompassing novel strategies and technologies aimed at protecting us against untreatable infection.