A united front in fight against the 'silent pandemic'

NEW YORK - Sept. 26, 2023 - PRLog -- By: Gerald Bloom, Institute of Development Studies in Brighton

It's called the "silent pandemic" and kills more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to human health. Already it has had a hand in the deaths of millions, and the numbers could get worse.

How countries take on this threat has wide-ranging repercussions. It will require a new kind of health diplomacy in which nations negotiate rules for cooperation and agree on their responsibilities and entitlements.

In 2019, antimicrobial resistance was directly linked to the death of 1.2 million people and associated with another 5 million. That same year, HIV/AIDS killed around 860,000 people and malaria 640,000.

Antimicrobial resistance is one of the biggest public health challenges of our time, and we're at a crossroads on how to combat it.

It's called the "silent pandemic" and kills more people than HIV/AIDS and malaria combined. Antimicrobial resistance is a serious threat to human health. Already it has had a hand in the deaths of millions, and the numbers could get worse.

How countries take on this threat has wide-ranging repercussions. It will require a new kind of health diplomacy in which nations negotiate rules for cooperation and agree on their responsibilities and entitlements.

In 2019, antimicrobial resistance was directly linked to the death of 1.2 million people and associated with another 5 million. That same year, HIV/AIDS killed around 860,000 people and malaria 640,000.

The overuse of antibiotics means they have become less effective against serious infections. Drugs no longer work because the bacteria causing infections — such as pneumonia — have become resistant to treatment. There has been relatively little investment in the development of new antibiotics, partly because the use of any new products need to be limited to delay the development of resistance. This means companies cannot generate revenue.

Many people in low- and middle-income countries still do not have access to antibiotic treatment for common infections. They often rely on local drug sellers who may supply sub-standard products. The same countries face an increasing problem with resistant organisms.

According to a study published in UK medical journal The Lancet, antimicrobial resistance affects the poorest the hardest. Sub-Saharan African nations have the highest fatality rate, at 27.3 deaths per 100,000 people. Infections of the respiratory tract, bloodstream and stomach that were once treatable are now killing hundreds of thousands.

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