EU deaths from antimicrobial resistance ‘could pass one million by 2025’

Deaths across Europe caused by the rising prevalence of antimicrobial resistance could pass one million by 2025, according to a new study.

The European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID) has suggested that this could be an inevitability unless more is spent on developing new cures, diagnostic tools and preventative measures to combat the spread of drug-resistant disease.

In Britain alone, an estimated 10,000 people die each year as a result of superbugs, but the report indicates this number could triple or even quadruple within the next ten years if no action is taken.

It was also noted that these figures do not even take into account the fact that many commonplace medical procedures could no longer be safe to perform, creating even more potential risk.

Murat Akova, president of ESCMID, said: "The rapid increase in antimicrobial resistance in Europe and the world is jeopardising modern healthcare. And resistance is spreading to the UK from across other European nations."

This comes after the recent National Risk Register of Civil Emergencies suggested that an epidemic of an antimicrobial resistant blood infection would affect 200,000 people, with two in five of these individuals potentially dying.