Antibiotic apocalypse could become a reality

Mankind is nearing a “post-antibiotic era”, scientists have warned after
finding bacteria able to shrug off the drug of last resort, Colistin,
raising the grim possibility of a future of untreatable infections
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Deaths due to antimicrobial resistance (AMR) per year  compared to other major causes of death

Resistant strain, likely due to overuse in farm animals, found in pigs, raw meat, and 16 Chinese patients

Escherichia coli (E. coli): Chinese and British scientists have found strain resistant to Colistin
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Tetanus 60,000
Cholera 120,000
Measles 130,000
Road accidents 1.2m
Diarrhoea 1.4m
Diabetes 1.5m
Cancer 8.2m
AMR 10m Level by 2050 (est)* 700,000
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Breakdown of deaths attributable to AMR every year, by 2050 *
Europe 390,000
North America 317,000
Latin America 392,000
Africa 4,150,000
Asia 4,730,000
Oceania 22,000

*If current trend is not altered
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Sources: The Lancet, 2014 British government Review on Antimicrobial Resistance, wire agencies
Picture: United States Department of Health and Human Services
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