Progress in tackling drug-resistant organisms is “fragile,” senior scientists warn today.
The warning is being issued at a major summit in Berlin, Germany, organised by the Wellcome Trust and involving the governments of the UK, Thailand and Ghana together with the UN Foundation.
A new analysis has found barely 30 countries worldwide committed to reducing antibiotic use through improved hygiene.
Researchers studied the action plans developed in 151 countries – out of 195 – and concluded that just half addressed the full extent of the threat across human and animal health and the environment.
They warn that within a generation ten million people a year could die from drug-resistant infections if the problem is not tackled.
Wellcome Trust director Dr Jeremy Farrar said: “Political and societal recognition of the threat superbugs pose has definitely increased. But the progress is fragile. We need to make sure we all convert that welcome high-level commitment into real action that makes a tangible difference to people lives.”
English chief medical officer Professor Dame Sally Davies said: “Superbugs will be a defining medical challenge of our age, and despite knowing about the problem for decades we have still not made enough progress to address it.”
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