Superbugs that are increasingly resistant to infections could kill up to 40 million people between now and 2050, according to new research published in the journal The Lancet.
During that time period, the extensive study forecasted that 169 million deaths would be associated with antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The study was described as the first of its kind to present a comprehensive assessment of the threats AMR poses globally.
The study found that over a million people died from AMR annually across the globe between 1990 and 2021.
“AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death,” according to the World Health Organization (WHO). “As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others.”
Deaths from AMR, between 1990 and 2021, have dropped more than 50 percent among kids younger than 5 years old, but the numbers have increased by over 80 percent for those aged 70 and above, according to the study.
The study also projected that “deaths from AMR will increase by 2050 if remediation measures are not in place.”
“Our analysis of trends in AMR mortality by age suggests that there is a need for interventions to tackle the increasing burden of AMR in older age groups going forward,” the researchers wrote.
The researchers also wrote that 1.91 million people around the world could die as a direct result of AMR in 2050. Around 8.22 million deaths associated with AMR could happen globally in 2050, according to the study.
“Given the high variability of AMR burden by location and age, it is important that interventions combine infection prevention, vaccination, minimisation of inappropriate antibiotic use in farming and humans, and research into new antibiotics to mitigate the number of AMR deaths that are forecasted for 2050,” the researchers wrote.