A recent Lancet study, offering the first comprehensive assessment of the global burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), finds 1.27 million deaths were directly attributable to bacterial AMR in 2019. The study notes that antibiotics used in farming may contribute to AMR in humans, but a direct causal link remains controversial.

Bacterial antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria evolve and become resistant to antibiotics, making infections more difficult or even impossible to treat. In 2021, the World Health Organization declared AMR as “one of the top 10 global public health threats facing humanity.”

The Lancet study evaluates 88 pathogen-drug combinations and finds that the same six pathogens were responsible for more than 250,000 deaths in 2019. Among the seven deadliest AMR bacteria, vaccines are only available for two, S. pneumoniae and Mycobacterium tuberculosis.

By 2050, the rise of AMR can lead to the loss of 10 million lives per year and US$3.4 trillion to the world’s annual gross domestic product in just 10 years, according to the study.

The team of researchers from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) who authored the study hopes policymakers take immediate action to prevent and control cases of AMR. “We are not innovating fast enough to develop effective vaccines, medicines, and treatments, leaving doctors and nurses in every country in the world unable to treat common infections,” Connie Kim, Communications Manager at IHME, tells Food Tank.

Read the full article about anti-microbial resistance and agriculture by Elizabeth Rhoads at Food Tank.