On the African continent, there is currently a man-made phenomenon that is already causing more deaths than malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined. The horror story is antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and it is getting increasingly scarier as it spreads around the world. The causes of AMR are well-known and indisputable.
The roots of AMR can be traced back to the misuse and overuse of antibiotics in human medicine and agriculture. Every time an antibiotic is used, there is a risk that bacteria surviving the treatment will develop resistance. This phenomenon is exacerbated by the frequent and often unnecessary prescription of antibiotics for viral infections against which they are ineffective.
Making matters infinitely more disastrous is the agricultural sector, which contributes very significantly to this problem by using antibiotics not only to treat sick animals but also to promote growth and prevent disease in healthy ones. This practice is particularly prevalent in high-density farming operations, where antibiotics are used to prevent diseases that could easily spread in crowded conditions. But most people would probably know all this already, and some would also know about a Lancet study that estimated that in 2019, AMR directly killed at least 1.
27 million people, and contributed to a further 4.95 million human deaths around the world due to weakened health effects caused by drug-resistant pathogens. Some people are also aware that by 2050, the number of human deaths di.
