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AMR could kill 39 mn people by 2050

Millions of lives are at stake due to use of Antimicrobial Resistance or AMR, also called as Superbugs, but these lives could be averted by better healthcare and invention of new antibiotics

Monday January 6, 2025 11:02 AM, ummid.com News Network

London: Millions of lives are at stake due to use of Antimicrobial Resistance or AMR, also called as Superbugs, but these lives could be averted by better healthcare and invention of new antibiotics, The Guardian reported.

What is AMR?

Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals, and antiparasitics – are medicines used to prevent and treat infectious diseases in humans, animals and plants, according to Wold Health Organisation (WHO).

Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines. As a result of drug resistance, antibiotics and other antimicrobial medicines become ineffective and infections become difficult or impossible to treat, increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, disability and death.

AMR is a natural process that happens over time through genetic changes in pathogens. Its emergence and spread is accelerated by human activity, mainly the misuse and overuse of antimicrobials to treat, prevent or control infections in humans, animals and plants.

AMR Impact

AMR affects countries in all regions and at all income levels. But, deaths linked to drug resistance are declining among very young children, driven by improvements in vaccination and hygiene, the study found the opposite trend for older people.

By the middle of the century, 1.91 million people a year are forecast to die worldwide directly because of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – in which bacteria evolve so that the drugs usually used to fight them no longer work, up from 1.14 million in 2021.

AMR will play some role in 8.2 million deaths annually, up from 4.71 million, The Guardian said citing the study, published in the Lancet.

"1st global analysis of AMR trends"

Conducted by the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (Gram) Project it is the first global analysis of AMR trends over time.

Researchers used data from 204 countries and territories to produce estimates of deaths from 1990 to 2021, and forecasts running through to 2050.

“Antimicrobial medicines are one of the cornerstones of modern healthcare, and increasing resistance to them is a major cause for concern", the study author, Dr Mohsen Naghavi, at the University of Washington’s Institute of Health Metrics (IHME), said.

“These findings highlight that AMR has been a significant global health threat for decades and that this threat is growing,” he added.

The study, which involved more than 500 researchers from institutions around the world, found a “remarkable” decline in AMR deaths among children under 5 – from 488,000 to 193,000 – between 1990 and 2022. They are set to halve again by 2050.

The UK daily also said that health experts are meeting in New York this month to discuss the serious matter, during the UN’s general assembly.

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