Resistance, Tolerance, Virulence and Bacterial Pathogen Fitness—Current State and Envisioned Solutions for the Near Future

Abstract

The current antibiotic crisis and the global phenomena of bacterial resistance, inherited and non-inherited, and tolerance—associated with biofilm formation—are prompting dire predictions of a post-antibiotic era in the near future. These predictions refer to increases in morbidity and mortality rates as a consequence of infections with multidrug-resistant or pandrug-resistant microbial strains. In this context, we aimed to highlight the current status of the antibiotic resistance phenomenon and the significance of bacterial virulence properties/fitness for human health and to review the main strategies alternative or complementary to antibiotic therapy, some of them being already clinically applied or in clinical trials, others only foreseen and in the research phase.