A new study reveals that up to 40 million people worldwide could die from infections caused by drug-resistant superbugs over the next 25 years.
Superbugs are strains of bacteria or pathogens that have developed resistance to antibiotics, making them significantly harder to treat. These superbugs pose a rising threat to global health, experts warn.
According to The Lancet journal, more than a million people have already died from superbug-related infections, also known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), between 1990 and 2022.
While deaths among children under the age of five due to superbugs have decreased by over 50% in the past three decades, infections in young patients are increasingly harder to treat.
Additionally, deaths among individuals aged 70 and above have surged by 80% due to AMR infections.
Researchers examined data on 22 pathogens and 11 infectious syndromes, including meningitis, covering the records of 520 million people across 204 countries and territories.
This study was released ahead of a high-level AMR meeting at the United Nations scheduled for September 26.
Antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon, but the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans, animals, and plants have exacerbated the problem, leading to dire consequences.