Millions of people will die of antibiotic-resistant infections in the next three decades, a report has warned.
Bacterial infections too strong to be cured by medicine will take the lives of nearly two-and-a-half million people in the UK, US, Europe and Australia by 2050.
Babies, young children and elderly people will be the most likely to die because their immune systems are weaker.
Global health experts say hospital hygiene must improve and people must cut down on antibiotics or there will be ‘disastrous consequences’ in the Western world.
More than 90,000 Brits could die from once-treatable ‘superbugs’, alongside a devastating death toll of more than 1million people in the US.
A league table of developed countries has revealed which nations will be hit hardest, with the US suffering by far the most, followed by Italy, France and Poland.
The United States is expected to have almost as many deaths (1.06million) as the entire of Europe (1.3million) caused by antibiotic resistant infections between 2015 and 2050 – and a total of 2.4million people are predicted to die as a result of failing medicines in the US, Europe and Australia in that time
Research by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has predicted the global impact of antibiotics becoming less and less effective.
Some 2,487,358 people are expected to die of antibiotic-resistant infections in 33 countries around the world between 2015 and 2050.
With a predicted 1,064,087 deaths, the US is expected to suffer more than twice as much as the second ranked country, Italy, with 456,486.
The United Kingdom has the sixth highest death toll, with 90,045, and Australia 18th with 10,430.
Meanwhile, Iceland – which has a population smaller than Bristol’s – will suffer only 40 deaths because of antibiotic resistance, also known as antimicrobial resistance.
‘Even small cuts in the kitchen, minor surgery or diseases like pneumonia could become life-threatening,’ the OECD’s report said.
Experts think the progress of antibiotic resistant infections, such as MRSA and some strains of gonorrhoea, will speed up to four to seven times its current rate.
‘Such high resistance rates in health care systems, which are already weakened by constrained budgets, will create the conditions for an enormous death toll that will be mainly borne by new-borns, very young children and the elderly,’ the report added.
And to add insult to injury, many infections are expected to become resistant to the backup antibiotics that are used when normal medicines don’t work.
‘These are antibiotics that as far as possible we don’t want to use because we want these as back up,’ said the OECD’s health lead, Michele Cecchini.
‘Essentially, we are using more when we should use less and we are running out of our best options in case of emergency.’
People are already dying of infections which were once easily curable – deaths in Europe tripled from 11,000 in 2007 to around 33,000 in 2015, according to separate research.
Antibiotic resistance is spiralling out of control because people are consuming more medications either when prescribed them by doctors, or because farm animals are fed them and they pass through the food chain.
To stop the death toll rocketing in the coming decades, the OECD says countries must spend more money trying to tackle the threat of antibiotic resistance.
It already costs healthcare systems more money than flu, HIV or tuberculosis, but costs could rocket to $3.5billion (£2.6bn).
The OECD said the changes needed to avoid the catastrophe could cost governments as little as $2 (£1.52) per person.
Hygiene should be better in hospitals and clinics, and better testing should be used to check if infections are viral to avoid unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, officials said.
Mr Cecchini said these measures could reduce antibiotic resistance by as much as 75 per cent, adding ‘It would pay for itself in a few months and would produce substantial savings.’
Tim Jinks, head of the Wellcome Trust’s Drug-Resistant Infections Priority Programme, said: ‘This new OECD report offers important insight into how simple, cost-effective surveillance, prevention and control methods could save lives globally.
‘Drug-resistant superbugs are on the rise worldwide and represent a fundamental threat to global health and development.
‘This report provides yet further evidence that investing to tackle the problem now will save lives and deliver big pay-offs in the future.’
Country | Number of deaths (2015-2050) | Country | Number of deaths (2015-2050) |
---|---|---|---|
United States | 1,064,087 | Australia | 10,430 |
Italy | 456,486 | Croatia | 10,352 |
France | 238,004 | Ireland | 9,794 |
Poland | 98,904 | Netherlands | 8,933 |
Germany | 92,306 | Sweden | 6,453 |
United Kingdom | 90,045 | Denmark | 4,742 |
Spain | 77,699 | Slovenia | 3,979 |
Greece | 69,774 | Lithuania | 3,869 |
Romania | 59,487 | Finland | 3,786 |
Portugal | 49,443 | Norway | 2,773 |
Hungary | 22,830 | Cyprus | 2,676 |
Belgium | 22,564 | Latvia | 1,763 |
Czech Republic | 19,840 | Malta | 1,203 |
Slovakia | 16,002 | Luxembourg | 793 |
Canada | 14,546 | Estonia | 756 |
Bulgaria | 11,685 | Iceland | 40 |
Austria | 11,314 | Source: OECD |