Dame Sally Davies, former Chief Medical Officer for England, recently issued a dire warning about the growing global threat of antibiotic resistance. She believes that there is an urgent need to act in order to reduce the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which threatens to make some routine medical procedures, such as surgeries and childbirth, increasingly risky.
Speaking to the *Observer*, Davies said that “the mortality rate associated with AMR is simply alarming” and that a million people die each year from resistant infections a number that is projected to rise substantially. According to estimates, AMR-related deaths could double by 2050, and nearly 40 million lives could be lost over the next 25 years, mainly among the elderly.
Mr Davies said that in children under the age of five, AMR decreased but mortality from 70 above increased by as much as 80% in the last decades since 1990. “The aging world and chronic illnesses have made an old person weak.”.
The use of antibiotics in livestock is one of the major causes of AMR, as around 70% of antibiotics produced worldwide are used in animals. This allows the bacteria to become resistant and spreads through water systems and even through wind across borders.
The misuse of antibiotics in agriculture and medical services accelerates the spread of resistant bacteria,” warned Davies. “Bacteria reproduce fast and adapt, becoming resistant that easily pass to other forms.”
Since then, the new classes of antibiotics have not emerged since the late 1980s. This is because the drugs are less lucrative than medicines prescribed for chronic illnesses. There are no significant returns on investments to pharmaceutical firms on antibiotics.
According to Davies, while the challenges that AMR poses are significant, they are not insurmountable. She advocates for urgent, coordinated global action, stating that the issue needs to be of priority to international forums like the G7.
