WHO warns of surging levels of antibiotic resistance

One in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotic treatments, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, calling for the medicines to be used more responsibly. Resistance to antibiotics rose in around 40 percent of samples monitored, the UN health agency said in a report based on data from more than 100 countries between 2016-2023. “Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families worldwide,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement accompanying the report. "We must use antibiotics responsibly, and make sure everyone has access to the right medicines, quality-assured diagnostics, and vaccines." Globally, resistance to antibiotics directly accounts for more than 1 million deaths annually. While genetic changes in pathogens are...