23 May 2025

In 2020, 58-year-old Viswanathan, recovering from a stroke, sought physiotherapy from an Ayurvedic practitioner, hoping to regain mobility. However, this treatment caused wounds on his leg. As a diabetic with an already weakened immune system this marked the beginning of his battle with antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

After a year of battling infections, he was given a last-resort antibiotic that damaged his kidneys. Hospital-acquired infections further complicated his condition, and ultimately, he succumbed to AMR in April 2021.