According to new research published in the journal The Lancet, antibiotic resistance could cause upto 40 million deaths by 2050.

"AMR occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medicines making infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness and death," the World Health Organization explains.

"As a result, the medicines become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spread to others."

The study found that more than one million people died from AMR annually across the globe between 1990 and 2021. During the same period, death among children under five declined by over 50 percent, whereas the same among individuals aged 70 and above increased by over 80 percent.

"Our analysis of trends in AMR mortality by age suggests that there is a need for interventions to tackle the increasing burden of AMR in older age groups going forward," the researchers wrote.

The researchers estimate that by 2050 nearly 1.91 million deaths could directly result from AMR, and 8.22 million deaths associated with AMR could happen globally, highlighting the need for immediate action.

"Given the high variability of AMR burden by location and age, it is important that interventions combine infection prevention, vaccination, minimisation of inappropriate antibiotic use in farming and humans, and research into new antibiotics to mitigate the number of AMR deaths that are forecasted for 2050," the researchers added.

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