Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the silent pandemic. It has been steadily increasing over many years and threatens to halt the practice of modern medicine. By 2050, the annual number of worldwide deaths due to AMR will be ∼10 million, with an estimated economic impact of 100 trillion USD (1). The World Health Organization, United Nations, and governments worldwide agree that plans for surveillance, stewardship, and innovation must be implemented to avoid a future global catastrophe (2, 3). An integral part of prolonging the usefulness of antibiotics will be to identify new ways to combat antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections. On page 1169 of this issue, Shatalin et al. (4) provide hope by presenting an approach that makes bacteria more susceptible to antibiotics. It hinges on crippling a universal bacterial defense mechanism whereby hydrogen sulfide (H₂S) protects bacteria from the toxic effects of reactive oxygen species (ROS). Once disabled as such, bacteria become more susceptible to antibiotics.

抗微生物药物耐药性 (AMR) 是无声的流行病。多年来，它一直在稳步增加，并有可能停止现代医学的实践。到 2050 年，全球每年因 AMR 导致的死亡人数将达到 1000 万左右，预计经济影响将达到 100 万亿美元 ( 1 )。世界卫生组织、联合国和世界各国政府一致认为，必须实施监测、管理和创新计划，以避免未来发生全球性灾难 ( 2 , 3 )。延长抗生素有用性的一个组成部分将是确定对抗抗生素耐药性细菌感染的新方法。在本期第 1169 页上，Shatalin等人。( 4）通过提出一种使细菌更容易受到抗生素影响的方法来提供希望。它取决于破坏通用细菌防御机制，即硫化氢 (H ₂ S) 保护细菌免受活性氧 (ROS) 的毒性作用。一旦被禁用，细菌就会变得更容易受到抗生素的影响。