Abstract
This study assessed health and economic impacts of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Thailand
under societal perspective by using the secondary data on hospitalizations and nosocomial infections
from 1,023 hospitals. A total of 87,751 hospitalizations developed nosocomial infections due to 5 major
bacteria (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Acinetobactor baumannii, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and methicillin-
resistant Staphylococcus aureus) that are resistant to antibiotics in Thailand in 2010. These AMR infections
resulted in additional of at least 3.24 million days of hospitalization and 38,481 deaths. Regarding an
economic loss, the cost of antibiotics to be used for therapy of AMR infections were accounted for 2,539 to
6,084 million Baht. The indirect costs of morbidity and mortality due to premature deaths related to AMR
were at least 40,000 million Baht (in 2010 values). The aforementioned health and economic impacts of
AMR are much higher than the burden of many priority health problems in Thailand. Therefore, AMR is
a major and urgent health problem in Thailand that needs comprehensive and systematic approaches at
national and local levels to resolve the problem.
