Drug-resistant superbugs could kill more than 39 million by 2050, study suggests
FILE - Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA). (Photo By BSIP/UIG Via Getty Images)
More than 39 million people globally could die from superbugs that are resistant to widely-used medications over the next 25 years, according to a new study.
The study, published on Monday in the journal The Lancet, claims to be the first in-depth global analysis of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) trends over time.
AMR happens when germs like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to defeat the drugs designed to kill them, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and it’s driven by misuse and overuse of antimicrobials in humans, animals and plants. Antimicrobials include antibiotics, antiseptics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics.
The World Health Organization calls AMR "one of the top global public health and development threats."
The study found that more than one million people died from antibiotic-resistant infections globally each year between 1990 and 2021. The study also estimates that such deaths will rise steadily in the coming decades, increasing by almost 70% by 2050 compared to 2022 and continuing to more greatly impact older people.
Between 2025 and 2050, the study estimates that antibiotic-resistant infections will lead directly to a total of more than 39 million deaths, and be associated with a broader 169 million deaths.
"Antimicrobial medicines are one of the cornerstones of modern healthcare, and increasing resistance to them is a major cause for concern," study author Dr. Mohsen Naghavi, team leader of the AMR Research Team at the Institute of Health Metrics at the University of Washington, said in a statement.
Naghavi said the study findings highlight how antimicrobial resistance has been a "significant global health threat for decades, and that this threat is growing."
"Understanding how trends in AMR deaths have changed over time, and how they are likely to shift in future, is vital to make informed decisions to help save lives," Naghavi added.
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Drug resistant superbug: What is it?
For nearly 100 years, bacteria-fighting drugs known as antibiotics have helped to destroy many of the harmful bacteria that can make us sick. But according to the National Institutes of Health, antibiotics in recent decades have been losing their effectiveness against some types of bacteria, and some bacteria are even now unbeatable with today’s medicines.
"Sadly, the way we’ve been using antibiotics is helping to create new drug-resistant ‘superbugs,’" the NIH explains on its website, naming drug-resistant forms of tuberculosis, gonorrhea, and staph infections as "a few of the dangers we now face."
Many antibiotics prescribed to people and to animals are unnecessary, the NIH says, and the overuse and misuse of antibiotics helps to create such drug-resistant bacteria.
"To prevent this from becoming a deadly reality, we urgently need new strategies to decrease the risk of severe infections through vaccines, new drugs, improved healthcare, better access to existing antibiotics, and guidance on how to use them most effectively," study author Dr. Stein Emil Vollset of the Norwegian Institute of Public Health and affiliate professor at IHME, said in a statement.
The Source
This story was reported based on information published in the journal The Lancet on Sept. 16, 2024, as well as a news release about the study published on the same date. It was reported from Cincinnati.