By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News
NEW YORK (Worthy News) – “Superbugs,” the strains of bacteria resistant to several antibiotics, could cause more than 39 million deaths by 2050, a new study shows.
Some 70 percent of these deaths likely result from infections resistant to medications that could have treated them, warned the study published by the The Lancet, a leading weekly medical journal and one of the oldest of its kind.
Besides the nearly 40 million deaths directly linked to “superbugs,” the study also predicts that drug-resistant infections will play a role in 169 million deaths over the next 25 years.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called antimicrobial resistance (AMR) “one of the top global public health and development threats.”
The WHO links these threats to “the misuse and overuse” of antimicrobial medications in humans, animals, and plants, which may help pathogens develop a resistance to them.
The researchers base their forecasts on analysis of recent deaths and the impact of measures to curb AMR deaths over time.
DRUG-RESISTANT
They found that more than 1 million people died each year as a result of drug-resistant infections between 1990 and 2021, a figure that is expected to increase over the following years.
The Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project, which carried out the study, saw over 500 researchers collect and analyze data from 204 counties over 30 years in the first global analysis of AMR trends.
Based on that data, the researchers forecast that South Asia, Latin America, and the Caribbean will have the highest AMR mortality rates by 2050.
However, the GRAM study found that millions of deaths could be averted through better infection prevention, improved healthcare access, and new antibiotics.
The WHO says the main drivers of AMR are the overuse and misuse of antimicrobials.
The study’s results come ahead of a United Nations high-level meeting on AMR, which will convene in New York City on September 24, when medics are expected to focus on preventing more “superbugs” deaths.
Copyright 1999-2026 Worthy News. This article was originally published on Worthy News and was reproduced with permission.
Latest News from Worthy News
Ukraine launched one of its largest drone attacks on Moscow since the war began, hitting a key oil refinery and other targets around the Russian capital, leaving at least one person dead and numerous others injured, Russian officials said.
Russian President Vladimir Putin hosted Southeast Asian leaders in Kazan this week as Moscow moved to deepen ties with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and promote its vision of a “multipolar world order” aimed at countering U.S. global dominance.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday that Israeli troops will not withdraw from southern Lebanon and will maintain a security zone there for as long as Israel’s defense needs require, placing Jerusalem at odds with both Tehran and the terms of a U.S.-Iran memorandum that calls for an end to hostilities in Lebanon.
U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth told NATO leaders Thursday that the Pentagon is launching a six-month review of U.S. force posture and basing in Europe, signaling a major push by the Trump administration to ensure European allies assume primary responsibility for defending the continent.
President Donald Trump has invoked the Cold War-era Defense Production Act to accelerate the production of U.S. munitions, missiles, interceptors, and critical defense components as American stockpiles face mounting strain from the war with Iran and years of heavy weapons transfers to allies, including Ukraine and Israel.
Fulani herdsmen killed five Christians at a mining site in central Nigeria’s Plateau state, highlighting continuing attacks on Christian communities in Africa’s most populous nation, Christians say.
Hundreds of employees have reportedly been dismissed from media outlets aligned with former Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, highlighting growing turmoil within the country’s right-wing media landscape following his election defeat and the subsequent loss of political influence.