Superbugs: drug-resistant infections kill about 35,000 people a year in the EU, experts warn

Infections that no longer respond to antibiotics are killing about 35,000 people a year in the European Union, according to the EU's disease control agency, ECDC, and experts warn the problem is getting worse.

The impact of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in Europe is now said to be as great as that of flu, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS combined. A study in The Lancet medical journal estimates that drug-resistant bacteria could directly cause 39 million deaths around the world between 2025 and 2050.

Bacteria become resistant when antibiotics are overused or misused, for example when people take them for viral infections such as colds, stop a course early, or when large amounts are given to farm animals. Poor sanitation and pollution also help resistant germs spread between people, animals and the environment.

Fiona Walsh, a microbiologist at Maynooth University in Ireland, warned that some infections cannot be cured even with combinations of antibiotics, and that some patients will die as a result.

Experts are calling for a 'One Health' approach that tackles human, animal and environmental health together. The World Health Organization says wider use of vaccines could cut global antibiotic use by 2.5 billion doses a year. The problem is also serious in Nigeria and across Africa, where antibiotics are often sold without a prescription.