Bacteria and Antibiotics
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR)
Causes and Spread of AMR
Statistics and Projections
Timeline

Statistics and Projections

Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) considers antibacterial resistance as one of the top three global health threats of the 21st century (Munita et al., 2016). In the United States alone, 2.8 million people are infected with drug-resistant bacteria annually, and more than 35,000 individuals die as a result of these resistant infections (2019, AR Threats Report; 2021-2022 AR Threats in the US). If better medical practices and new treatment strategies are not developed to combat drug resistance, it is expected that 10 million deaths worldwide will be attributed to bacterial infections each year by 2050. Illnesses that were once easily treatable are now posing a greater-than-ever threat to humanity. By 2050, antimicrobial resistance is expected to become the number one cause of death across the globe, surpassing even cancer (see Figure 1). Distribution of deaths across the globe due to antimicrobial resistance is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 1. The chart compares the annual number of deaths resulting from the major causes of death worldwide. Data retrieved from: (AMR Review, 2014).
Figure 1. The chart compares the annual number of deaths resulting from the major causes of death worldwide. Data retrieved from: (AMR Review, 2014).
Figure 2. This chart provides the annual number of deaths antimicrobial resistance is expected to cause in each continent by 2050. Data retrieved from: (AMR Review, 2014).
Figure 2. This chart provides the annual number of deaths antimicrobial resistance is expected to cause in each continent by 2050. Data retrieved from: (AMR Review, 2014).

References

Antimicrobial Resistance: Tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations (2014). Retrieved from https://amr-review.org/sites/default/files/AMR Review Paper - Tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations_1.pdf

CDC. Antibiotic Resistance Threats in the United States, 2019. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2019. http://dx.doi.org/10.15620/cdc:82532

CDC. Antimicrobial Resistance Threats in the United States, 2021-2022. Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, CDC; 2024. https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/data-research/threats/update-2022.html

Munita, J. M., & Arias, C. A. (2016). Mechanisms of Antibiotic Resistance. Microbiology spectrum, 4(2), 10.1128/microbiolspec.VMBF-0016-2015. doi:10.1128/microbiolspec.vmbf-0016-2015

March 2025, Gauri Patel; Reviewed by Dr. Tanaya Bhowmick
https://doi.org/10.2210/rcsb_pdb/GH/AMR/about/stats