Antibiotic-Resistant Superbugs Could Result In 39 Million Deaths By 2050, New Research Warns

"We estimated that in 2050, there will be 1.91 million annual deaths attributable to AMR globally and 8.22 million annual deaths associated with AMR."

Chelsi

• Published in News
• September 24, 2024

Days before the second high-level meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), experts released a grim forecast about the surge of superbug-related deaths over the next 25 years.

According to the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project, there could be 39 million deaths directly attributed to AMR and 169 million deaths due to AMR-related causes.

The study was published in The Lancet after researchers combed through 520 million records across 204 countries and territories. They found that from 1990-2021, AMR-related deaths decreased by 60% in children five years and below.

The hard-hit population was the elderly. While rigorous vaccination programs and infection control measures protected children, AMR-related deaths rose by 80% for adults aged 70 and up in the same period.

Their analysis showed that the elderly population will continue to suffer from these superbugs. However, everyone, regardless of age and location, is at risk of drug-resistant bacterial infections.

The United Nations Foundation vice president for global health strategy, Ahmed Ogwell, described antibiotic resistance as a "very silent pandemic." Low to middle-income countries face a bigger burden as higher rates of AMR-related deaths were documented in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

The COVID-19 pandemic showed that higher-income countries are slow to respond to an emergent issue that largely impacts their low to middle-income counterparts. This study wasn't the first to raise the alarm of the growing threat of antibiotic resistance.

In 2016, months before the first UNGA high-level meeting for AMR, researchers from Harvard's TH Chan School Of Public Health shared their expertise during a Reddit question-and-answer forum.

Even years ago, professors of immunology and infectious diseases, Sarah Fortune and Eric Rubin, were convinced that there were some steps we could take individually...

... the effort to curtail antibiotic resistance must be societal and systematic.

Some countries across the European Union, like Norway, have taken some steps to reduce their reliance on antimicrobials.

While progress may be slow, it is aligned with their goal to curb the use of antimicrobials in the medical field by 2030.

In 2016, global leaders signed a "watered-down" version of a declaration that was meant to signify their commitment to prevent human deaths from AMR.

The Lancet study still gave a glimmer of hope. The research showed that a few significant measures must be taken to prevent AMR-related deaths.

There must be better infection control, immunizations, and the development of new antibiotics if 92 million lives are to be saved by 2050.

Global cooperation is necessary. Given how most governments reacted during the COVID-19 pandemic, a miraculous and concentrated effort must be undertaken.

Unfortunately, from a business standpoint, the development of new antibiotics isn't profitable for large pharmaceuticals.

If profits are given more importance than human lives, The Lancet study might as well be carved in stone.

On an individual level, Fortune and Rubin encouraged people to be more discerning consumers. Whenever possible, it's important to select food items free from antibiotics.

The Lancet study is a warning to everyone. Governments must do all they can to protect the most vulnerable sector of their population.

Chelsi