Antibiotic resistance in people and animals may push millions into poverty: World Bank

If drug-resistant infections in people and animals are allowed to spread unchecked, the loss could be as much as 3.8 per cent or the equivalent of the 2008 financial crisis.

'We cannot afford to lose the gains in the last century brought about by the antibiotic era'

Thomson Reuters Posted: Sep 19, 2016 3:11 PM EDT | Last Updated: September 19, 2016

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates 60,000 tonnes of antimicrobials are used in livestock each year. (April L. Brown/Associated Press)

Ifdrug-resistant infections in people and animals are allowed tospread unchecked, some 28 million people will fall into povertyby 2050, and a century of progress in health will be reversed,the World Bank said on Monday.

By 2050, annual global GDP would fall by at least 1.1per cent, although the loss could be as much as 3.8 per cent theequivalent of the 2008 financial crisis the Bank said in areport released ahead of a high-level meeting on the issue atthe United Nations in New York this week.

The rise of "superbugs" resistant to drugs has been causedpartly by the increased use and misuse of antibiotics and otherantimicrobial drugs in the treatment of people and in farming.

"We cannot afford to lose the gains in the last centurybrought about by the antibiotic era," Tim Evans, the WorldBank's senior director for health, nutrition and population,told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

"By any measure, the cost of inaction on antimicrobialresistance is too great, it needs to be addressed urgently andresolutely," he said.

Greater quantities of antibiotics are used in farming thanfor treating people, and much of this is for promoting animalgrowth rather than treating sick animals, economist Jim O'Neillsaid in a report in May commissioned by the British government.

The O'Neill report estimated that drug-resistant infectionscould kill more than 10 million people a year by 2050, up fromhalf a million today, and the costs of treatment would soar.

Livestock declines projected

Farmers too will be greatly affected. The bank estimatesthat by 2050, global livestock production could fall by between2.6 per cent and 7.5 per cent a year, if the problem of drugresistant superbugs is not curbed.

"Investments are urgently needed to establish basicveterinary public health capacities in developing countries,"Evans said.

Improved disease surveillance, diagnostic laboratories toensure a disease is identified quickly, inspections of farms andslaughterhouses, training of vets, and oversight over the use ofantibiotics are also needed, he said.

World headed for 'apocalyptic' post-antibiotic era, WHO warns

The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates60,000 tonnes of antimicrobials are used in livestock each year,a number set to rise with growing demand for animal products.

One of the most important ways to curb the spread of drugresistant microbes in food is to promote good farming practices,said Juan Lubroth, chief veterinary officer of FAO.

"I think this is where we can do most of our prevention better knowledge on hygiene, vaccination campaigns, so these

animals do not get sick and need antimicrobials[drugs],"Lubroth said in an interview from Rome.

Public demand for food that is uncontaminated, and bettertraining of health professionals doctors and vets are alsovital to help contain the problem, he added.

Hospitals and pharmaceutical companies also need to do moreto treat their waste, he said.

The World Bank estimates that an investment of some $9billion US a year is needed in veterinary and human health totackle the issue.

"The expected return on this investment is estimated to bebetween $2 trillion and $5.4 trillion or at least 10 to 20times the cost, which should help generate political willnecessary to make these investments," Evans said.

CBC's Journalistic Standards and Practices|About CBC News

Corrections and clarifications|Submit a news tip|

External Links

High-level Meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance

Antibiotic resistance in people and animals may push millions into poverty: World Bank

'We cannot afford to lose the gains in the last century brought about by the antibiotic era'

Livestock declines projected

Related Stories

External Links