The world is facing an antibiotic emergency: a data-led plan of action is needed now | Sally Davies

Global leaders are meeting to address the threat posed by antimicrobial resistance - millions will die unless solutions are found

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Over the next 25 years, someone will die every three minutes from common, preventable and formerly treatable health conditions, simply because the antibiotics we use to treat them will have stopped being effective. Unless, that is, the world steps up to respond to the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR).

Antibiotics have been a cornerstone of modern medicine for decades, but today some of the life-saving medicines we depend on are under threat. This is because the bacteria that cause conditions such as pneumonia and diarrhoea are changing so that they no longer respond to these treatments. Routine procedures, from surgery to childbirth, are becoming riskier, increasing the likelihood of deadly complications and threatening our health systems. No one is safe from the threat of AMR.