Superbug apocalypseAntimicrobial resistance poses “catastrophic threat” to mankind
The U.K. Department of Health says that global action is needed to tackle the catastrophic threat of antimicrobial resistance, which in twenty years could see any one of us dying following minor surgery. A new report, providing a comprehensive overview of the threat of antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases, highlights a “discovery void” with few new antibiotics developed in the past two decades. It highlights that, while a new infectious disease has been discovered nearly every year over the past thirty years, there have been very few new antibiotics developed, leaving our armory nearly empty as diseases evolve and become resistant to existing drugs.
The U.K. Department of Health says that global action is needed to tackle the catastrophic threat of antimicrobial resistance, which in twenty years could see any one of us dying following minor surgery, England’s Chief Medical Officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said yesterday.
This stark warning comes as the second volume of the Chief Medical Officer’s annual report is published, providing a comprehensive overview of the threat of antimicrobial resistance and infectious diseases.
Calling for politicians to treat the threat as seriously as MRSA, the report highlights a “discovery void” with few new antibiotics developed in the past two decades. It highlights that, while a new infectious disease has been discovered nearly every year over the past thirty years, there have been very few new antibiotics developed leaving our armory nearly empty as diseases evolve and become resistant to existing drugs.
A U.K. Department of Health release reports that in addition to encouraging development of new drugs, the report highlights that looking after the current arsenal of antibiotics is equally important. This means using better hygiene measures to prevent infections, prescribing fewer antibiotics and making sure they are only prescribed when needed.
The Chief Medical Officer also states that more action is needed to tackle the next generation of healthcare associated infections, including new strains of pneumonia-causing klebsiella, which will be harder to treat.
Some seventeen recommendations are made as part of the report, including:
- A call for antimicrobial resistance to be put on the national risk register and taken seriously by politicians at an international level, including the G8 and World Health Organization
- Better surveillance data across the NHS and world-wide to monitor the developing situation
- More work carried out between the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries to preserve existing drugs and encourage the development of new antibiotics to fill the “discovery void” of the last twenty years
- Building on the success of the NHS in cutting MRSA rates, which have fallen by 80 percent since a peak in cases in 2003 through better hygiene measures, which should be used when treating the next generation of healthcare associated infections such as new strains of harder-to-treat klebsiella.
