According to new research, antibiotic-resistant germs caused more than 1.2 million fatalities worldwide in a single year, implying that these “superbugs” have joined the ranks of the world’s greatest infectious disease killers.
Antimicrobial resistance, which is responsible for a substantial number of deaths caused by treatable diseases, has arisen as a new issue for health researchers. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the cause of several deaths caused by treatable diseases such as lower respiratory and bloodstream infections, because the bacteria that causes the sickness has developed resistance to treatment. According to the Indian Express, a study published in the Lancet journal that included more than 204 nations indicated that more than 12 lakh people died in 2019 as a result of AMR, which is several times more than mortality caused by HIV/AIDS or malaria.
The Lancet research analysed the deaths linked to 23 pathogens and 88 pathogen-drug combinations. The study found that more than 12 lakh deaths would not have taken place directly if the infection had not become resistant to drugs. In addition to the 12 lakh deaths directly linked to the problem of AMR, the study found that another 49 lakh people died due to causes that are linked to AMR but the patients did not die directly of AMR but other problems.
