Nearly 40 Million Could Die By 2050 From Antibiotic Resistant Infections Says Study
Due to repeated use of antibiotics, the bacteria and viruses associated with the disease gradually develop resistance, due to which the medicines stop being effective after some time. These are called antibiotic-resistant infections. That means such infections which will no longer be affected by antibiotics.
The Lancet A study related to this has been published, which says that deaths due to antibiotic resistance are continuously increasing. This growth is going to accelerate further in the coming decades. “This is a big problem, and it’s going to remain that way,” according to Christopher J.L. Murray, the study’s senior author and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.
Researchers are constantly warning that antibiotic resistance is making even common infections fatal. After the development of resistance, its treatment is taking a lot of time. The study analyzed 52 crore data points from 204 countries which included records of insurance claims, death certificates, hospital discharges etc. After analysis, it was found that between 1990 and 2021, approximately 10 lakh deaths were due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Researchers have predicted that the rate of deaths due to antimicrobial resistance will continue to increase.
Another shocking thing has been said here. The study says that a completely opposite pattern is being seen in deaths due to antimicrobial resistance in children and the elderly. The rate of AMR deaths among children under 5 years of age has declined by 50% between 1990 and 2021, while the rate for seniors 70 years and older has increased by 80%. This pattern is expected to continue further, so the elderly are going to be at greater risk from antibiotic resistance.
The study demands that greater efforts are needed to overcome antibiotic resistance. First of all, efforts should be made to prevent infections from occurring, people should be made aware about antibiotic resistance so that antibiotics are not used even in infections like cough and cold. Rather, efforts should be made to cure the infection with simple treatments like salt water gargle, or medicinal decoction etc.
