At least 1.2 million people died from antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections in 2019, according to a study published in the medical journal The Lancet. This is the most comprehensive estimate of the global impact of antimicrobial resistance to date.

An analysis covering 204 countries and territories found that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is now the leading cause of death globally, higher than HIV/AIDS or malaria. In fact, hundreds of thousands of people are now dying from common, previously treatable infections, such as lower respiratory and bloodstream infections, because the bacteria that cause them have become resistant to drugs.

The report highlights the urgent need to scale up action against AMR and outlines immediate actions policymakers can take to help save lives and protect health systems. These include optimizing the use of existing antibiotics, taking greater action to monitor and control infections, and providing more funding to develop new antibiotics and treatments.

“These new data reveal the true scale of global antimicrobial resistance, a clear signal that we must act now to address the threat. Previous estimates predicted 10 million deaths each year by 2050 antimicrobial resistance, but we now know for sure that we are closer to that number than we thought. If we want to stay ahead of the antimicrobial resistance race, we need to use these data to correct Act and drive innovation,” said study co-author Chris Murray of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington.

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