UK ‘falling short’ in fight against rise of superbugs resistant to antibiotics

Superbugs are on the rise in the UK and the government is failing in its efforts to tackle them, ministers have been warned.

The World Health Organization has described antimicrobial resistance (AMR) – where pathogens evolve and develop resistance to antibiotics and other antimicrobials so the drugs usually used to fight them no longer work – as “one of the top global public health and development threats”.

AMR is already contributing to more than 35,000 deaths a year in the UK, estimates suggest. But the government “remains a long way” from achieving its aim of containing and controlling AMR, the National Audit Office (NAO) said.

If urgent action is not taken to stem the crisis, the consequences for health, life expectancy, the functioning of the NHS and the wider economy would be “huge”, the watchdog said.

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Source: The Guardian, 26 February 2025