Disease-causing microbes are killing people and antibiotics aren’t helping

Untreatable infections cause more deaths than HIV/AIDS or malaria, shows a latest study highlighting the growing disease burden at a time when the world is fighting coronavirus and its ever-evolving variants.

The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project states that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now the leading cause of deaths across the world.

Infections – untreatable by existing antibiotics or any other medicine – result in 12.7 lakh deaths per year around the world, the GRAM Project noted.

Published in the latest Lancet journal, the study says the statistics are alarming mainly because people, mostly children, are dying of diseases which earlier could be easily treated with antibiotics, called “magic bullets”.

What is antimicrobial resistance?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is the ability of a microorganism (bacteria, virus, fungi, parasite) to resist the effects of a drug. This resistance is mainly developed due to excessive and irrational use of antibiotics. Medicines fail to take care of pathogens entering the body, thus making it difficult to treat infections, pneumonia, hospital-acquired infections and foodborne ailments.

According to the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project, in 2019 about 50 lakh deaths were associated with AMR. Of them, 12.7 lakh deaths can be directly attributed to AMR.

In 2019, one in five deaths attributable to AMR (antibiotic resistance) occurred in children under the age of five. Sub-Saharan Africa seems to be the worst affected, but developed countries too are reporting cases where available medicines are not working. Another estimate suggests that by 2050, about one crore people will die annually of AMR.

Scientists say the challenge can be addressed by providing accurate and timely estimates of AMR burden so that treatment guidelines and agendas can be framed for research and policymaking.

Action needed to minimise deaths due to anti-microbial resistance

Commenting on the findings of the Lancet study, Chris Murray, director of Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, Washington University, said: “This paper is a critical step that allows us to see the full scale of the challenge. We now need to leverage these estimates to course-correct action and drive innovation if we want to stay ahead in the race against AMR.”

Also read: C-CAMP launches new platform to tackle antimicrobial resistance

Mohsen Naghavi, adjunct professor at Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation, and one of the co-authors of the study, said: “It is very important that governments control use of antibiotics. As doctors we have to control ourselves from prescribing antibiotics when there is no evidence that the antibiotic is effective on the pathogen.”

Murray said, “One area of concern is that we are not innovating fast enough to develop effective vaccines, medicines and treatments.” AMR threat looms large because resistance levels are growing while antibiotic development has failed to keep pace.

Down To Earth reported that a total of 63 new antibiotics were okayed between 1980 and 2000 while just 15 new drugs have been approved between 2000 and 2018. Out of the seven deadliest drug-resistant bacteria, vaccines are only available for pneumonia and tuberculosis.

Sadly but fortunately, COVID-19 has highlighted the importance of infections and ways to prevent them, but more number of hospitalisations is an indication that antibiotic resistance will only get worse unless we come together with a sense of urgency and global solidarity against the common enemy.