Antimicrobial resistance could cause 10 million deaths annually by 2050, UN report says

In this Nov. 25, 2013 file photo, a microbiologist works with tubes of bacteria samples in an antimicrobial resistance and characterization lab at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta. The UN Environment Programme UNEP said in a report on Tuesday that the growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance poses an existential threat to the health of humans, animals, food crops, and the natural world.

Antimicrobial resistance could cause up to 10 million deaths annually by the year 2050, according to the report.

The UNEP report said that the inability of drugs widely used to treat infections that are caused by pathogens like viruses, bacteria and fungi could lead to a $3.4 trillion-slump in Gross Domestic Product GDP annually, putting an additional 24 million people on the verge of extreme poverty.

The UNEP's Executive Director Inger Andersen noted that drivers of ecological degradation like pollution and biodiversity loss are worsening antimicrobial resistance, to the detriment of the global sustainability agenda.

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Our health and food systems could be destroyed by the impact of antimicrobial resistance. Andersen said that cutting down pollution is a prerequisite for a century of progress toward zero hunger and good health.

The report notes that industrial pollution, disruptions in the natural world and extreme weather events are also behind the spread of superbugs, which are resistant to conventional drugs because of the title of Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening Environmental Action in the One Health Response to Antimicrobial Resistance.

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The UNEP said that antimicrobial resistance was one of the top ten threats to global health security, because of the fact that it could worsen poverty, gender inequalities, and food insecurity.

The report says that if you don't address the global burden of antimicrobial resistance, you could take humanity back to an era when even mild infections could become deadly.

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In order to tame the antimicrobial resistance crisis, the UNEP report proposes better management of waste from pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors, the use of degradable antibiotics, the establishment of a robust monitoring and regulatory regime, collaborative research, and public awareness.