Drug-resistant infections are linked to an estimated 35,000 deaths each year in the European Union and European Economic Area, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. The estimate is based on surveillance data from 2020, and the agency says the health burden is comparable to influenza, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined.
Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria and other microbes no longer respond to medicines used to treat infections. For people infected with bacteria resistant to several drugs, treatment can require combinations of antibiotics—and those combinations may not work, said Fiona Walsh, a professor at Maynooth University in Ireland, in an interview with Euronews.
A study published in The Lancet projects that bacterial antimicrobial resistance could directly cause 39 million deaths worldwide from 2025 to 2050. Walsh’s research examines resistance across human, animal and environmental health, an approach known as One Health.
Prevention beyond new antibiotics
Antibiotic overuse in people and animals, poor sanitation and environmental pollution can all contribute to resistance. Bacteria, along with genetic material that helps them withstand medicines, can move between people, animals and the environment.
Walsh said tackling the problem requires more than developing new antibiotics. Vaccines can prevent infections and reduce the need for treatment; the World Health Organization estimates that wider vaccine use could cut global antibiotic consumption by 2.5 billion doses a year.
Researchers are also looking at wastewater treatment and ways to improve animal health throughout the food chain. Walsh cautioned that excessive use of antibiotics and disinfectants can disrupt the beneficial bacteria that help protect the body.
The ECDC’s EU/EEA report puts the regional death estimate in context, while the One Health approach recognises that reducing resistance requires action across health care, agriculture and the environment.
Clayton Ward