Drug-resistant infections kill more people than HIV or malaria in 2019

According to a global analysis published on Thursday in The Lancet, 1.27 million people died directly from drug-resistant bacterial infections and nearly 5 million died in 2019.

Scientists have sounded the alarm for years over the threat of incurable infections caused by dangerous bacteria that have come to resist even the most potent antibiotics. The study – an attempt to compile the first comprehensive tally by bringing together data from hundreds of countries – suggests that deaths have accelerated at a faster rate than expected.

“Previous estimates predicted 10 million annual deaths from antimicrobial resistance by 2050, but we now know for certain that we are already much closer to that figure than we thought,” said Chris Murray, a study co-author. said the author and professor at the Institute for Science. Health Metrics and Assessment at the University of Washington. “These new data reveal the true scale of antimicrobial resistance around the world, and are a clear indication that we must act now.”

According to the article, the scientists used data from 204 countries and territories to trace 23 pathogens and deaths associated with 88 combinations of pathogens and drugs.

Most of the deaths were due to lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia, or bloodstream infections. Next in line were intra-abdominal infections such as those usually due to appendicitis.

Low- and middle-income countries were the hardest hit. Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia had the highest estimated direct death rates, with 24 and 22 deaths per 100,000 population, respectively.

Children under the age of five are particularly at risk, and researchers estimate that they account for one-fifth of deaths from antibiotic-resistant infections globally.

The research was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Wellcome Trust.

This story has been published without modification in text from a wire agency feed. Only the title has been changed.