Antibiotic resistance may account for 10 million deaths

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MANILA – Antibiotic resistance could account for over 10 million deaths in a year according to a Britsh government-commissioned study.

Without urgent action, widespread and low-risk surgeries made possible by antibiotics are dangerous, according to the Review of Antimicrobial Resistance.

The review found out that the highest number of deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance is prevalent in Asia with 4.7 million followed by Africa with 4.1 million, while there would be 390,000 in Europe and 317,000 in the United States.

British Prime Minister David Cameron announced the said review headed by Jim O’Neill, former chief economist at US investment bank Goldman Sachs, and included British senior public health experts.

Compared to cancer, the deaths caused by antibiotic resistance is the second-biggest killer amounting to 8.2 million deaths a year by 2050.

The results were gathered based on the existing studies of Rand Europe, a think tank and the consultancy KPMG.

“The damaging effects of antimicrobial resistance are already manifesting themselves across the world,” the report said.

“Antimicrobial-resistant infections currently claim at least 50,000 lives each year across Europe and the US alone,” it added.