A new study published in The Lancet warns that global deaths, particularly among infants, the elderly, and vulnerable populations, will rise significantly if urgent action on antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is not prioritized. AMR occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites evolve to resist the effects of medications that once effectively treated them, leading to persistent infections and increased risk of spread.
Currently, more than 4.9 million people die annually due to AMR, according to the study. However, a new modeling analysis as part of a four-paper series published in The Lancet estimates that 750,000 deaths linked to AMR could be prevented each year in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) through the use of available vaccines, improved water and sanitation, and infection-control methods.
The series’ authors are calling for “urgent global action” on AMR and ensuring sustainable access to antibiotics. “The window of opportunity to ensure our ability to treat bacterial infections is shrinking,” said co-author Ramanan Laxminarayan, founder and president of the One Health Trust. “For too long, the problem of AMR has been seen as either not urgent or too difficult to solve. Neither is true. We need immediate action and the tools to do so are widely available. We hope that this September, the United Nations High-Level Meeting will ensure that there is also the global will to act.”
The series highlights that babies, children, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses are most vulnerable to AMR due to their higher risk of contracting bacterial infections. AMR poses a particularly grave threat to newborn survival worldwide. According to the paper, a third of global newborn deaths are caused by infections, with half of these attributable to sepsis, a potentially lethal systemic response to infection. Alarmingly, the bacteria or fungi causing these infections increasingly do not respond to the most readily available antibiotics.
An example cited in the series involved a study across 11 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Latin America from 2018 to 2020, where 18% of babies with sepsis did not survive despite being treated with antibiotics.
Elderly and chronically ill individuals also face significant risks from AMR, particularly when receiving treatment in hospitals and long-term care facilities. AMR undermines the safety of common medical procedures such as organ transplants, joint replacements, cancer chemotherapy, and the treatment of non-communicable diseases like cardiovascular disease, diabetes, and chronic lung illnesses.
The authors urge for sustainable access to antibiotics to be a central focus of ambitious and actionable targets on tackling AMR at the High-Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024. They propose publicly funded models of antibiotic development based on public-private partnerships to increase the availability of novel alternatives and reduce patients’ out-of-pocket costs, making treatments more accessible.
Furthermore, they call for increased funding for AMR prevention programs, noting that funding for AMR significantly lags behind that for diseases with smaller burdens, such as HIV, malaria, and tuberculosis. The series also advocates for the establishment of an Independent Panel on Antimicrobial Access and Resistance to expand the evidence base for policy implementation and to inform new targets.
