Animal production

Effects of antibiotic resistance

According to a 2019 report by the Wellcom Trust, nearly 700,000 people worldwide die each year from infections caused by resistant bacteria. It is also predicted that this number could rise to as many as 10 million by 2050. The excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics is determining the rise of multi-resistant microorganisms, which is already having catastrophic consequences on a global scale.

According to a 2019 report by the Wellcom Trust, nearly 700,000 people worldwide die each year from infections caused by resistant bacteria. It is also predicted that this number could rise to as many as 10 million by 2050. The excessive and inappropriate use of antibiotics is determining the rise of multi-resistant microorganisms, which is already having catastrophic consequences on a global scale.

One of the most worrying consequences of antibiotic resistance is the decrease in the therapeutic efficacy of antimicrobial drugs, which can lead to failures and difficulties in treating humans and animals, but also increase the number of complications and deaths. The decrease in the number of effective first-, second- or third-choice antibiotics is associated with the risk of increased treatment times and costs, and even the need to turn to less safe therapeutic options.

The phenomenon of antibiotic resistance is also associated with epidemiological risks. The ease and speed at which people move between countries and continents means that the transmission and spread of multi-resistant bacteria, or the horizontal transmission of resistance genes, has become easier than ever and has gained a global reach. This has economic consequences not only in healthcare, where the costs of treatment and diagnosis continue to rise, but also in society (psychological problems) and in the economy (loss of productivity). In the European Union, it is estimated that healthcare costs and productivity losses due to antibiotic resistance amount to as much as €1.5 billion annually1.


1. Source: Advancements of Microbiology, 2020, 59, 3, 249-257 DOI: 10.21307/PM-2020.59.3.18, ANTIBIOTICOPORITY: CAUSES AND CONSEQUENCES Beata Mazińska, Waleria Hryniewicz Department of Epidemiology and Clinical Microbiology, National Institute of Medicines, Warsaw).