British health experts on Thursday said some 10 million people could die annually from infections by drug-resistant “superbugs” by 2050 unless the world takes decisive action to cut the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs.
The experts made this known in a government-funded review of antimicrobial resistance.
In the review, the experts stated that “currently, 700,000 people die of resistant infections every year.
“Antibiotics are a special category of antimicrobial drugs that underpin modern medicine as we know it.
“If they lose their effectiveness, key medical procedures could become too dangerous to perform; low and middle-income countries would suffer the biggest impact.”
The review’s lead author, Economist Jim O’Neill, said that he found it incredible that doctors must still prescribe antibiotics based only on their immediate assessment of a patient’s symptoms.
“The review makes 10 recommendations to galvanise action at the individual, organisational, state level and global level,’’ O’Neill said.
He urged everyone to play their part in only taking antibiotics when they are needed and completing their course.
He however urged governments to launch a massive global public awareness campaign and build a global coalition for real action via the UN and the G20 group of the world’s largest economies.
Other recommendations include improving hygiene and preventing the spread of infections, reducing the use of antimicrobials in agriculture, improving global surveillance of drug resistance, and promoting the use of vaccines and other alternatives to antimicrobials.