1.27 million deaths a year attributable to antimicrobial resistance
pharmafile | January 20, 2022 | News story | Business Services |
The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) paper has revealed the true scale of antibiotic resistance in Western Europe, and worldwide. New data published in The Lancet shows that at least 1.27 million deaths per year are directly attributable to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This includes 51,000 deaths directly attributable to AMR in West Europe in 2019.
Based on estimates across 204 countries and territories, the ‘Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 204 countries and territories in 2019’ paper provides the most comprehensive estimate of the global impact of antibiotic resistance to date.
According to the paper, AMR has now become a leading cause of death globally, higher than HIV/AIDs or Malaria. In the Western Europe region, which includes the UK, over 51,000 people died as a direct result of AMR. Common infections such as lower respiratory tract infections, bloodstream infections, and intra-abdominal infections are now killing hundreds of thousands every year because bacteria have become resistant to treatment. This includes historically treatable illnesses, such as pneumonia, hospital-acquired infections, and foodborne ailments.
An estimated 4.95 million people who died in 2019 suffered from at least one drug-resistant infection, and AMR directly caused 1.27 million of those deaths. Experts warn that current action plans on AMR are not ambitious or fast enough to control the threat.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines, making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death.
The GRAM leadership team at the University of Oxford, Prof Christiane Dolecek, Dr Catrin Moore, and Prof Benn Sartorius, also commented: “Being able to measure AMR, and compare it with other major health threats, is essential to addressing its serious consequences. This work incorporates the best available data and provides reliable evidence describing the substantial mortality and morbidity caused by AMR globally.”
The data was published following rigorous external peer review by independent experts, and showed AMR levels requiring urgent action from policymakers and health communities worldwide, to avoid further preventable deaths.
Ana Ovey
