Anti Microbial Resistance: 1/4 of deaths linked to Tuberculosis
Brussels, 19th May 2016: A report published today by the independent Review of Antimicrobial Resistance clearly links the AMR problem with the world’s deadliest infectious disease: tuberculosis (TB). With drug resistant TB (DR-TB) being particularly fierce in Europe, the European Union should urgently develop a plan to tackle the disease across its policies in the wider region.
The report: “Tackling Drug-Resistant Infections Globally: Final Report and Recommendations” marks the culmination of an 18-month project led by Lord Jim O’Neill, a UK Treasury Minister and former Goldman Sachs Chief Economist. The Review was established by the British Prime Minister David Cameron in July 2014 to analyse the future impact of drug-resistant infections and propose solutions to the lack of development of new antimicrobial drugs.
The Review team has previously estimated that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could result in the loss of 10 million lives a year by 2050. Tuberculosis represents a quarter of these deaths with an estimated 75 million people dying from the disease over the next 35 years at a total economic cost of $16.7 trillion. The impact on Europe will be significant with drug-resistant tuberculosis (DR-TB) responsible for an additional 2.1 million deaths in the continent by 2050 at an economic cost of $1.1 trillion. TB has killed more people than any other infectious disease in history and still claims more lives every year than any other infectious disease.
“With Europe being home to the highest DR-TB rates and a major consumer of antimicrobial agents, the EU should prioritise the issue and demonstrate strong political leadership across its health, research, Eastern neighbourhood and development policies”, said Fanny Voitzwinkler, Head of the EU office of Global Health Advocates. “An EU Policy Framework on TB has long been awaited by civil society, especially in light of the strong push from the European Commission to decrease its financial support to health programmes in middle income countries and the rising threat of DR-TB.”
The report offers ten recommendations for addressing AMR around the world, including the development of a new fund to support basic academic research into new drugs, and a major pooled fund to provide a commercial incentive for private sector organisations to invest in new antimicrobials.
The report also calls on governments to “build a global coalition for real action” through the G20 and the UN. The envisaged coalition will provide the funding necessary for the pooled fund with the Review stating that TB must be at the heart of their efforts: “the burden of TB is too great, and the need for new treatments too urgent, for it not to be a central consideration for the role and objectives of a global intervention to support antibiotic development.”