Topline
Antimicrobial resistance—which can lead to higher medical costs, longer hospital stays, and an increased risk of death—was labeled as a “top global public health and development threat” in a new report by the World Health Organization.
Key Facts
Antimicrobials are medicines—like antifungals, antibiotics, antivirals, and antiparasitics—used to treat and prevent infection in humans, animals, and plants by stopping the growth of microorganisms, such as fungi, bacteria, and algae.
The overuse and misuse of antimicrobials in people, plants, and animals is the main cause of the development of drug-resistant pathogens, according to the WHO report.
Almost 1.3 million people died as a direct result from antimicrobial resistance in 2019, and another 4.5 million deaths were indirectly caused by antimicrobial resistance.
Though low- and middle-income countries are mainly affected due to poverty and inequality being the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance, it affects all countries regardless of region or income level.
The World Bank estimates antimicrobial resistance will result in an additional $1 trillion in healthcare spending by 2050, and between $1 trillion to $3.4 trillion in gross domestic product losses by 2030.
The estimated yearly national cost to treat infections in the U.S. caused by six multidrug-resistant germs often found in healthcare is more than $4.6 billion, according to a 2021 study published in Clinical Infectious Diseases.
Big Number
2.8 million. That’s how many people in the U.S. are affected by antimicrobial-resistant infections each year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Around 35,000 die from the infection.
Key Background
Multidrug-resistant germs are bacteria that have become resistant to certain antibiotics, which in turn can no longer be used to treat or kill the bacteria. They develop after taking antibiotics longer than necessary or when they’re not needed. The more often an antibiotic is used, the more likely drug-resistant bacteria will grow. This bacteria can go on to infect people, and can spread person-to-person by touching infected surfaces or through direct contact with infected bodily fluids. Though coming into contact with the bacteria doesn’t automatically mean a person will get sick, older people, those with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses, people who recently had surgery, people with open wounds or tubes in their body, and those who’ve taken antibiotics before are most at risk. Antimicrobial resistance makes it harder to treat other illnesses, makes other medical procedures more risky, and leads to longer hospital stays, according to WHO. It also causes an increase in medical costs, which costs the U.S. $20 billion for healthcare yearly, and around $35 billion for loss of productivity, according to a 2019 study.
Tangent
Healthcare providers made 236.4 million antibiotic prescriptions in 2022, equal to 709 antibiotic prescriptions per 1,000 people, the CDC reports. Penicillins were the most prescribed class of antibiotics, at a rate of 159 per 1,000 people, and women were more likely to be prescribed antibiotics than men. The South was the region with the most antibiotic prescriptions, with a total of 106.2 million.
Surprising Fact
At least 30% of antibiotics prescribed in outpatient care are unnecessary, according to the CDC. Total inappropriate antibiotic use—like unnecessary and prolonged use, misdosing, and prescribing the wrong antibiotic—may be around 50% for outpatient settings.
Antimicrobial resistance (The World Health Organization)
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