WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Antimicrobial resistance could kill millions of people by 2050, according to a study published in the journal The Lancet.
Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, poses an important global health challenge in the 21st century. It happens when pathogens like bacteria and fungi develop the ability to resist the medications used to kill them.
The misuse and overuse of antimicrobial medications can help pathogens develop a resistance to them, the World Health Organization says.
Researchers estimated deaths and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs) linked to bacterial AMR for 22 pathogens, 84 pathogen-drug combinations, and 11 infectious syndromes in 204 countries from 1990 to 2021.
Forecasts show that an estimated 1·91 million deaths attributable to AMR and 8·22 million deaths associated with AMR could occur globally in 2050.
Super-regions with the highest all-age AMR mortality rate in 2050 will be south Asia and Latin America and the Caribbean, the study says.
The most risky age group for AMR-related deaths will be those 70 years and older.
In stark contrast to the strong increase in number of deaths due to AMR of 69·6 percent from 2022 to 2050, the number of DALYs showed a much smaller increase of 9·4 percent to 46·5 million in 2050.
Across all age groups, 92 million deaths could be cumulatively averted between 2025 and 2050 through better care of severe infections and improved access to antibiotics, researchers say.
Under the Gram-negative drug scenario, 11·1 million AMR deaths could be avoided through the development of a Gram-negative drug pipeline to prevent AMR deaths.
The study recommends infection prevention, vaccination, minimisation of inappropriate antibiotic use in farming and humans, and research into new antibiotics to mitigate the number of AMR deaths that are forecasted for 2050.
The study was conducted by researchers from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance Project, the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation and other institutions with funding by UK Department of Health and Social Care's Fleming Fund, and the Wellcome Trust.
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