“Experts predict that by 2050, death due to antimicrobial resistance could rise by nearly 70% over the next 25 years.”

A study from the University of Washington found that bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) caused over 1 million deaths globally each year from 1990 to 2021. This number is expected to rise by nearly 70% over the next 25 years. In 2021, there were 1.14 million deaths due to AMR, slightly higher than the 1.06 million in 1990.

Experts predict that by 2050, there could be 1.91 million deaths directly caused by AMR and 8.22 million deaths associated with AMR each year worldwide. Over the period from 2025 to 2050, a total of 39.1 million deaths could be attributed to AMR. However, improved access to healthcare and antibiotics might prevent around 92 million deaths during this time.

The study also found that deaths due to AMR in children under 5 years old decreased by 60.4% from 1990 to 2021, and overall AMR-associated deaths dropped by 63.3%. Sepsis deaths in young children also fell by more than 60%. In contrast, deaths directly caused by AMR in people aged 70 and older increased by 89.5%, and AMR-associated deaths rose by 81.3% over the same period.

The researchers also found that AMR-attributable deaths increased for 12 pathogens from 1990 to 2021. The Six pathogens, included Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, each of whihc caused at least 100,000 AMR-related deaths annually.

Regional variations were also observed, with five regions experiencing increases of more than 10,000 AMR-related deaths over the 31-year period. However, among children under 5, AMR-attributable and -associated deaths decreased in all regions except Oceania.

(Source:https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/generalinfectiousdisease/111981)