Antimicrobial Resistance as a Global Public Health Challenge: Epidemiological Burden, Bioethical Dimensions and Emerging Therapeutic Strategies

Background/Objectives: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major global public health threat, compromising prevention and treatment of infectious diseases. This narrative review examines AMR as a multifactorial and transnational crisis through epidemiological, One Health, social and bioethical perspectives, and discusses emerging non-antibiotic preventive and therapeutic strategies. Methods: PubMed and Scopus were searched using terms related to AMR, epidemiology, public health, surveillance, One Health, bioethics, equity and alternative therapies. Peer-reviewed medical and public health articles were considered, together with selected reports from international organizations and public health agencies. Results: AMR is driven by inappropriate antibiotic use in human medicine, livestock, aquaculture and agriculture, combined with weaknesses in infection prevention, stewardship, environmental control and surveillance. Epidemiological evidence shows a substantial global burden, marked regional inequalities in resistance patterns, surveillance capacity and policy response, and major consequences, including increased mortality, prolonged hospitalization, rising healthcare costs and disproportionate effects on vulnerable populations. Key bioethical concerns include collective responsibility, equitable access to effective treatment, stewardship, global justice and intergenerational accountability. Emerging non-antibiotic strategies vary in translational maturity: vaccines and selected microbiome-based interventions have preventive or supportive roles in defined settings, bacteriophage therapy is used mainly in compassionate or specialized contexts, and many antimicrobial peptides and nanotechnology-based platforms remain experimental or early translational. Conclusions: AMR requires coordinated global action grounded in One Health, strong public health systems, integrated surveillance, responsible antimicrobial use and sustained innovation. Effective containment must also address social inequalities, ethical stewardship, equitable access to diagnostics and treatment, and responsibility toward future generations.