According to the results of an 18-month review on antimicrobial resistance, superbugs—bacteria strains that are resistant to antibiotics—could kill someone every three seconds by 2050.
The report, commissioned by the UK government and chaired by British economist Jim O'Neill, estimates that 700,000 people worldwide—including 50,000 in the U.S. and Europe alone—die each year from bacterial infections, HIV, and other diseases due to drug resistance. This number is projected to grow to 10 million per year if we don't curb the spread of superbugs.
The report found that antibiotic-resistant bacteria will become a particularly big problem in developing countries and that E. coli, malaria, and tuberculosis are the biggest threats.
"If we fail to act, we are looking at an almost unthinkable scenario where antibiotics no longer work and we are cast back into the dark ages of medicine," UK Prime Minister David Cameron said in a summary of the review. The full report suggests a number of solutions, including improving sanitation, reducing pollution, and developing vaccines and drugs. It also recommends we drastically reduce the use of antibiotics in agriculture.
The report calls drug resistance "one of the biggest health threats that the world faces," but also expresses optimism that "huge strides can be made this year, and beyond, to ensure we fix the supply and demand problems, and ensure the health of future generations."
O'Neill did not immediately return Complex's request for comment.
