May 20, 2016.

A world in which antibiotics would no longer work would be a world where, every three seconds, a human died of a common infection. For economist Jim O’Neill, if public decision-makers do not take action, this world will be ours in 2050.

In a few years, resistance to antibiotics will be more deadly than cancer today. This is basically what economist Jim O’Neill says in a report on antimicrobial resistance commissioned by the British government. According to him, by 2050, ten million people, or one every 3 seconds, are expected to die from a common infection in itself, but whose drugs used to combat it have not been effective enough.

” We must stop taking antibiotics like candy “, Explains Jim O’Neil, while antibiotic resistance, which participates in the creation of” super bacteria “, has killed just over a million people since the start of its study in mid-2014.

” It must become a priority for all heads of state “, Estimates the economist. In his report, the latter notes that in addition to the number of lives, the cost of this public health problem could rise to 100 billion dollars. To counter what he calls a return ” in the middle Ages Jim O’Neill proposes in particular the release of a research fund of 2 billion dollars, the reduction of the use of antibiotics in the farms, as well asa reward of up to $ 1 billion for laboratories that will develop new treatments.

This report is not the first to sound a red flag about the resistance of microbes. Last November, The World Health Organization (WHO) launched its first global week for the proper use of antibiotics. ” If we do not take meaningful action to better prevent infections but also to change the way we produce, prescribe and use antibiotics, we will gradually lose these global public health goods and the consequences will be devastating. “, Also noted the WHO in a report published upstream.

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