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Doctors warn millions could die due to antibiotic resistance
08.01.2025 10:31
Doctors are sounding the alarm: according to their data, the mortality rate of people around the world is growing due to bacterial resistance to antibiotics.
Moreover, this figure will only increase every year.
Former Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies has predicted that 40 million people could die over the next 25 years due to antibiotic resistance.
Who is at particular risk?
As British media write, citing a statement from a specialist, even such standard procedures as operations and childbirth can pose certain risks.
It is precisely because of the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMP).
Every year, about a million people die due to the spread of resistant microorganisms, and this figure will grow over the next 25 years, the expert said.
According to her, by 2050 the number of deaths from AMR will double.
She warned that superbugs could kill around 40 million people within a quarter of a century.
The specialist emphasized that elderly people are at particular risk.
And while the incidence of AMR among children under 5 years of age is declining, among citizens over 70 years of age, mortality has increased by 80% since 1990, Davis noted.
Scientists say that, in addition to the elderly, those most vulnerable to AMR are those suffering from chronic diseases.
That is why today in many countries around the world doctors are trying to limit the prescription of antibiotics, while patients are increasingly undergoing a full course of treatment.
Routes of distribution
Incorrect use of antibiotics by doctors is just one way resistance spreads.
The second extremely important condition is locations in which approximately 70% of all antibiotics are given to livestock.
This creates a reserve of animals in which resistance can develop.
In other words, its spread is facilitated by feeding cows, sheep, chickens and other farm animals with antibiotics.
They are used in this capacity as a cheap alternative to growth stimulants or prophylactic agents to prevent diseases.
But this promotes the evolution of microbes that acquire the ability to resist antibiotics.
Resistance to them is "spreading around the world," Davis added.
