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'
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.
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"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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Public demand for food that is uncontaminated, and bettertraining of health professionals doctors and vets are alsovital to help contain the problem, he added.
The World Bank estimates that an investment of some $9billion US a year is needed in veterinary and human health totackle the issue.