UK – Some 700,000 people die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections, and by 2050 it is expected to reach 10 million deaths annually as a result of this condition, warned a report funded by the British government.

The study noted that in addition to the high cost in living, the cumulative impact on the economy of these diseases resistant to antibiotics would be 100 billion dollars by 2050.

Entitled “Antimicrobial Resistance Review,” the document said there would be high costs in human and economic lives if we do not find proactive solutions now to reduce the rate of increase in drug resistance.

It noted that if antibiotics lose their effectiveness, key to modern life such as caesarean sections, replacement of ligaments or treatments that suppress the immune system like cancer chemotherapy procedures, it could become very dangerous.

The report recommends that a fundamental change is required in how antibiotics are consumed and prescription, to preserve the usefulness of existing products for longer period and reduce the need to discover new products.

It recalled that the abuse use of antibiotics creates this resistance, and proposed an awareness campaign among doctors and veterinarians not to prescribe drugs when they are not needed. The campaign cost $ 40 thousand to 100 billion dollars a year.

The report urged to reduce the use of antibiotics in animals especially, in countries like the United States represents 70 percent of the use of these drugs per unit weight. Most antibiotics for animals are not used to treat diseases but as preventive medication or to promote growth, so they are not indispensable.

In this regard, the document warned that most scientists see this trend as a threat to human health, since the wide scale use of antibiotics encourages the development of resistance.