Antibiotic resistance to drive treatment cost from $66 bn to $159 bn yearly by 2050: Study
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria or superbugs, which emerge due to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics, can increase the number of hospital admissions and lead to longer and more intensive hospital stays. Resistant infections are roughly twice as expensive to treat as those for which antibiotics are effective, posing a significant threat to global health and economic stability. However, its impact would be more pronounced in low- and middle-income countries, noted the study.
The study by the think tank Center for Global Development integrates human health burden projections with economic models to provide a comprehensive analysis of the impact of AMR on global economies and health systems.
'We estimate that the impact of antimicrobial resistance falls most heavily on low- and lower-middle-income countries. Antimicrobial resistance increases the cost of health care by $66 billion, and this will rise to $159 billion in our business-as-usual scenario where resistance rates follow historical trends,' said the researchers, led by Anthony McDonnell, a policy fellow at the Center for Global Development.
The study adopted a multifaceted approach to estimate the economic burden of AMR. Projections of the health burden were taken from the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME), which estimates deaths from AMR to soar by 60 per cent by 2050. The numbers of those becoming seriously ill from drug-resistant bacteria are also expected to jump.
Health burden estimates from the IHME suggest that if resistance follows trends since 1990, AMR will lead to 38.5 million deaths between 2025 and 2050.
'If resistance rates follow historical trends since 1990, the direct health care costs of AMR are projected to rise to $159 billion per year by 2050 (1.2 per cent of global health expenditure). This increase is attributed to higher treatment intensities and economic growth in regions most affected by AMR,' the researchers said.
The study called for improving innovation and access to high-quality treatment.
It showed that if nobody died from AMR, "the global population will be 22.2 million larger by 2050'.
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Southampton (UK), Jul 29 (The Conversation) If bacteria had a list of things to fear, phages would be at the top. These viruses are built to find, infect and kill them – and they have been doing it for billions of years. Now that ancient battle is offering clues for how we might fight back against antibiotic-resistant infections. As more bacteria evolve to withstand our antibiotics, previously treatable infections are becoming harder – and in some cases, impossible – to cure. This crisis, known as antimicrobial resistance (AMR), already causes over a million deaths a year globally, and the number is rising fast. The World Health Organization has named AMR one of the top ten global public health threats. Phage therapy – the use of phages to treat bacterial infections – is gaining attention as a potential solution. Phages are highly specific, capable of targeting even drug-resistant strains. 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Rules of engagement If a bacterial strain carries a defence like Kiwa, not all phages will succeed against it. Some might be blocked entirely. But others, with just the right mutations, might slip through. That means choosing or engineering the right phage for the job is not just a matter of trial and error – it is a matter of knowing the rules of engagement. Studying bacterial defence systems like Kiwa gives us a deeper understanding of those rules. It helps explain why some phages fail, why others succeed, and how we might design better phage therapies in the future. In time, we may be able to predict which bacterial defences a given strain carries, and select phages that are naturally equipped – or artificially tuned – to overcome them. That is the idea behind our growing phage collection project. 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And if we learn how to navigate the strategies they have evolved, we might find new ways to treat the infections our antibiotics can no longer handle. (The Conversation) NSA NSA First Published: July 29, 2025, 10:00 IST News agency-feeds How ancient viruses could help fight antibiotic resistance Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
