This figure represents more deaths than those caused by AIDS or malaria.
- In Europe, bacteria resistant to antibiotics have caused 33,000 deaths.
- Antibiotic resistance is a natural phenomenon, but the excessive and incorrect use of antibiotics accelerates the development and dissemination of bacteria.
Communicable pathologies, chronic diseases, traumas… These conditions are the main causes of death in the world, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). Recently, researchers have pointed out that antibiotic resistance is also “a major threat to health”. In a study published in the journal The Lancetthe latter revealed that resistance to antibiotics, which makes these treatments ineffective against a bacterial infection, caused 1.27 million deaths worldwide in 2019. This figure represents more deaths than those caused by AIDS or malaria .
Statistical modeling
To carry out their study, the scientists estimated deaths attributed to antibiotic resistance of 23 pathogens and 88 pathogen-drug combinations in 204 countries and territories in 2019. “We obtained data from literature reviews, hospital systems and other sources, covering 471 million individual records and 7,585 years of study. We used predictive statistical modelling” to analyze the global impact of antimicrobial resistance, the authors of the work developed.
The researchers estimated that 4.95 million deaths were “associates” to antibiotic resistance and that 1.27 million deaths were “assigned” to antibiotic resistance. According to the results, 929,000 deaths were due to six main pathogens. These are Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Acinetobacter baumannii and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. A pathogen-drug combination, methicillin-resistant S aureus, has caused more than 100,000 deaths.
For an intensification of actions
“These new data reveal the true extent of antibiotic resistance worldwide…Previous estimates predicted 10 million deaths per year in 2050, and we now know that we are much closer to this figure than we thought”, said Christopher Murray, an epidemiologist at the University of Washington and author of the study.
“To our knowledge, this study provides the first comprehensive assessment of the global burden of antibiotic resistance, which is one of the leading causes of death worldwide,” the researchers pointed out. They specified that it was urgent to intensify actions to fight against antibiotic resistance.
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