A major new report has stated that nearly 20 new lethal superbugs have been identified in the UK. A superbug is a strain of bacteria that has become resistant to antibiotic drugs. Officials say that this ia a bigger threat to human life than climate change. That's a bold statement.
England's Chief Medical Officer, Professor Dame Sally Davies, has warned that superbugs could kill up to ten million people a year unless drastic action is taken. Antibiotic overuse is already blamed for 5000 superbug deaths in the UK each year.
These latest findings were revealed in a five-year plan from Public Health England aimed at tackling urgent threats. Among them were 19 new superbugs identified in the past decade. These include mutant forms of MRSA, Gonorrhea and Enterococcus.
The drug resistant bugs, found in 1300 patient samples, meant that sick Brits failed to respond to "antibiotics of last resort", such as Carbapenems and Colistin. Medics were instead forced to use unlicensed drugs, combine old medicines, or ratchet up the dosages to save patient's lives.
Infectious Disease's expert, Doctor Susan Hopkins, who was at the Public Health England annual conference, said:
"The doomsday scenario is that we cannot treat patients."
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