Be Mindful of Your Metaphors about Microbes

Metaphors are ubiquitous in science and have important implications for how we frame our research objectives as well as how we communicate to the public. This piece focuses on the power of metaphors to shape our attitude and actions toward antimicrobial-resistant bacteria. It begins by emphasizing the pervasiveness of war metaphors to describe bacteria. Then it highlights that, with this type of framing, the solutions follow a similar suit. Ultimately, this metaphorical framing can imply dangerously incorrect solutions to the problem of antibiotic resistance. I propose that we need metaphors that represent the problem of antimicrobial resistance as an ecological and evolutionary issue rather than a single bacterial enemy. I end by offering a new metaphor that does not downplay the healthy fear we should have for antimicrobial-resistant bacteria but acknowledges that living things evolve and self-preserve. This piece is a call to action to use metaphors that express microbes’ exceptional resilience rather than our brute strength in combat against them.