Superbugs will kill more people than cancer and diabetes combined by 2050 unless something is done to tackle antibiotic resistance, MPs have warned. Despite drives to reduce prescription rates, British doctors are still doling out twice as many antibiotics as some of their European counterparts, a report has found. Experts have warned that routine hospital operations could become too dangerous if common medications become ineffective.
They fear the antibiotics crisis is getting worse, with growing concerns the drugs are losing their effect and can no longer treat many infections. It is estimated that drug-resistant strains of bacteria are responsible for 5,000 deaths a year in the UK and 25,000 a year in Europe. But experts say the death toll could reach ten million a year globally within the next 30 years.
The report by the House of Commons' health and social care select committee says the Government has not done enough to combat antimicrobial resistance and must make it 'a top-five policy priority'.
Professor Dame Sally Davies, England's chief medical officer, told the inquiry that failing to do so would mean 'modern medicine is lost'.
