Following the news that antibacterial resistance was the third leading cause of death worldwide in 2019, killing more than malaria or AIDS*;

Emily Martyn, MPH, Healthcare Analyst at GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company, offers her view:

“The threat of antibiotic resistance cannot be understated. Without effective antibiotics, not only will we be unable to treat common infections such as pneumonia, tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, and salmonellosis, but our inability to manage infection on the whole will seriously limit routine surgeries and procedures such as chemotherapy. If governments respond as urgently to antibiotic resistance as they did to the COVID-19 pandemic, there would a chance we can prevent this coming storm.

“If governments are to address this global health threat effectively and keep antibiotics effective, they need to act now. Many lessons can be learned from the COVID-19 pandemic that can be applied in this situation. Antibiotic regulations need to be put into place immediately, including limiting use in agriculture and banning over-the-counter use. Further, clear public health messaging needs to be implemented to help the public understand the threat and learn what they can do to prevent it.

“Serious public and private investment is needed to discover new antibiotics and bring these to market rapidly—leveraging the fast-tracking system used for COVID-19 vaccines and drugs.”

* Murray, et al. (2022) Global burden of bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019: a systematic analysis, DOI:10.1016/S0140-6736(21)02724-0