Super bacteria a problem are already. The numbers say it. According to a report published in 2024 by the European Center for Disease Control (ECDC), more than 670 thousand infections from antibiotic resistant bacteria, which cause over 35 thousand deaths, occur in Europe. In this context, the country that presents the greatest critical issues is Italy where there are even 12 thousand annual deaths related to antibiotic resistance. In the future, however, it could be worse. Unless the problem is tackled by chest by the governments of the most developed countries.
Research
Research conducted by the Think Tank ‘Center for Global Development’ and financed by the British government estimates that the global economy can undergo total losses for 1.7 trillion dollars by 2050. In particular, in the most pessimistic scenario, China could record losses for 722 billion dollars a year in the next quarter of a century, therefore resulting in the economy of much more affected. The United States could leave 295.7 billion dollars on the ground, the EU 187 billion, Japan 65.7 and the United Kingdom 58.6 billion dollars.
The social and economic cost of super bacteria
In the study, reported by the Guardian, it is highlighted that the health costs of the antibiotic resistance are announced very high: in addition to the increase in hospitalized people it must in fact be considered that the care will be more expensive and complex and longer hospitalization times. This would translate into an additional expenditure that national states must take a balance sheet for the care of the antimicrobial resistance: in the United Kingdom the outlay could go from 900 million dollars to 3.7 billion, while in the United States from 15.5 to just under 57 billion dollars.
According to the Institute for Health Metals and Evaluation, the deaths due to super bacteria will be increased by 60% by 2050. To give an idea in the United States, 1.34 million people may lose their lives every year.
And that’s not all. With the spread of super bacteria, a reduction in the estimated workforce in the European Union of around 0.6% and in the United States of 0.4% would be taken into account. As mentioned above, however, it is the ‘Worst Case Scenario’ which could be averted by investing in the development of new drugs, but at the same time with a cultural change that must necessarily lead to avoiding the abuse of antibiotics. The researchers mainly put in the sights the recent cuts to foreign states decided by the governments of the United States and other European countries that could put the fight against antibiotic resistance all over the world in difficulty.