Antibiotic resistance is when bacteria change and adapt in response to antibiotics, becoming able to defeat these drugs when used to treat infections. A direct consequence of this adaptation is an increased difficulty in treating multiple diseases. Because of increased antibiotic resistance, the World Health Organization has declared it a significant threat to public health.

One frequent consequence of natural disasters is infections, as seen in the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami. Survivors sustained a variety of wound infections that ranged from common pathogens to rarely seen organisms including fungi.

This research analyzes the microbiology observed in wound infections associated with exposure to freshwater, seawater, soil, fecal, and other contamination after Hurricane Harvey in 2017 and Hurricane Florence in 2018.

Therapies for infections will also be discussed in addition to how the utilization of rapid detection technology for antimicrobial resistance and correct treatments require antimicrobial susceptibility knowledge to improve health outcomes, lower economic costs, prevent further spread of multi-drug resistant outbreaks and assist with antimicrobial stewardship.