Drug-Resistant Superbugs Could Kill Millions by 2050

A drug-resistant superbug could kill millions of people by 2050, according to a new report.

According to a new study published on Lancet on Monday, September 16, researchers concluded that if action is not taken, the superbug could be powerful enough to kill nearly 2 million people every year by 2050.

According to Los Angeles TimesThe Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance Project (GRAM) adds that a further 8.22 million people could die from infection-related causes.

According to GRAM’s website, the project is a collaboration between the University of Oxford and the Institute for Health Measurement and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington, studying the risk of antimicrobial resistance and promoting “rational use of antimicrobials worldwide.”

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“Numbers in Lancet paper represent a staggering and unacceptable level of human suffering,” said Henry Skinner, executive director of the AMR Action Fund, according to LA Times. “The continued failure of governments to meet their moral obligations to protect and care for their people, as this document shows, will condemn millions of people to unnecessary death.”

Candida auris strain.

Shawn Lockhart/CDC via AP

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The study claims that people aged 70 and over will be the most affected age group in deaths from antimicrobial resistance.

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Deaths from AMR in people aged 70 and over increased by 80% between 1990 and 2021, the report said.

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It is also estimated that the death rate from resistant pathogens in all age groups is highest in South Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean.

“The data show that if we take steps towards better management practices, improved access in low- and middle-income countries, and new investments to boost antibiotic production, then we can save tens of millions of lives,” James Anderson, president of the AMR Industry Alliance, said, according to LA Times.

Categories: Trends
Source: HIS Education

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