"No Antibiotics Work, Already Spread Worldwide"… Drug-Resistant Bacteria as Severe as COVID-19

"Annual Deaths Surpass Those from Malaria and AIDS"

Shigella bacteria resistant to antibiotics.
Photo by US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A study has revealed that infections caused by 'antibiotic-resistant bacteria,' which are as critical as COVID-19 and unresponsive to antibiotics, have already spread worldwide.

On the 20th (local time), according to the British BBC and The Guardian, a multinational research team of 140 led by the University of Washington published a paper with these findings in the global medical journal The Lancet.

They compiled and analyzed records of 471 million people from 204 countries and territories through the "2019 Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study (GBD 2019)."

According to the study, in 2019, there were 1.27 million deaths directly caused by infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and an additional 4.95 million deaths where health deteriorated indirectly due to such infections. These numbers exceed the 860,000 deaths from AIDS and 640,000 deaths from malaria in the same year.

Deaths caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria were identified as resulting from lower respiratory infections such as pneumonia or bloodstream infections that can worsen into sepsis.

Among these, Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA), which shows resistance to the antibiotic methicillin, was found to be particularly lethal. MRSA is one of the dangerous 'multidrug-resistant bacteria' that do not respond to multiple antibiotics simultaneously and is considered a major cause of fatal hospital-acquired infections.

Additionally, the researchers found that one-fifth of deaths among children under five were related to antibiotic resistance, indicating that children are more vulnerable.

The impact of antibiotic-resistant bacteria was concentrated in underdeveloped countries. Sub-Saharan Africa recorded the highest mortality with 24 deaths per 100,000 people, and South Asia had 22 deaths per 100,000 people due to antibiotic resistance. In high-income countries, the death rate was 13 per 100,000 people.

Chris Murray, professor at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington School of Medicine, who conducted the study, stated, "The new data reveal the true scale of the global antibiotic resistance response. This is a clear signal that we must fight against this threat."

Ramanan Laxminarayan, director of the U.S. research institution Center for Disease Dynamics, Economics & Policy (CDDEP), said, "First, we need to invest in preventing infections to ensure that currently available antibiotics are used appropriately, and also allocate funds to develop new antibiotics."