Harmful pollution boosting superbug ‘silent pandemic’

PARIS: Containing and cleaning up environmental pollution, especially in waterways, is crucial to controlling increasingly bullet-proof superbugs which could kill tens of millions by mid-century, a new UN report said on Tuesday.

Superbugs -- strains of bacteria resistant to antibiotics -- are estimated to have killed 1.27 million people in 2019, and the World Health Organisation says antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the top global health threats on the near-term horizon. Up to 10 million deaths could occur every year by 2050 because of AMR, the UN says.

The disinfectants, antiseptics and antibiotics that can help microbes become stronger are everywhere, from toothpaste and shampoo to cow´s milk and wastewater. A new report Tuesday said pollution is a key driver in the “development, transmission and spread” of AMR, calling for urgent action to clean up the environment.

“With increasing pollution and lack of management of sources of pollution, combined with AMR in clinical and hospital settings and agriculture, risks are increasing,” said the report from the UN Environment Programme.

Antimicrobial resistance is a natural phenomenon, but the overuse and misuse of antibiotics in humans, animals and plants has made the problem worse. This means antibiotics may no longer work to fight the very infections they were designed to treat.

The UN report Tuesday said that pollution in the environment from key economic sectors has exacerbated the problem, namely from the pharmaceutical and chemical manufacturing sectors, along with agriculture and health care.