Drug-resistant infections a "threat greater than Covid"
That is according to a molecular microbiology lecturer at the University of Plymouth
Antibiotic resistance is like "a silent tidal wave", according to a molecular microbiology lecturer at the University of Plymouth.
Dr Tina Joshi says drug-resistant infections will pose a 'threat greater than Covid' in the future, unless action is taken.
With news of COVID-19 vaccines on the horizon, we have hope of a way to curb a virus that has had a devastating impact on so many people.
But according to Dr Joshi, we need to be considering a much longer-term threat to our health - drug-resistant infections
Currently, the global loss of life caused by antibiotic resistance is estimated at over 700,000 deaths every year. This is predicted to climb exponentially to over 10 million deaths per annum by the year 2050, if no action is taken.
Writing in an opinion piece, Dr Joshi said:
"Antimicrobials and antibiotics will soon become useless if we keep considering them as a 'miracle pill', meaning sepsis, pneumonia and other lethal bacterial infections could become untreatable. If we don't raise awareness and act quickly, we could be facing a much bigger threat to human health, long after the pandemic has passed."
Viruses and bacteria are different - COVID-19 is caused by a virus (SARS-CoV-2), while infections like sepsis are bacterial.
Antibiotics can only treat bacterial infections, not viruses.