Antimicrobial resistant superbugs could be responsible for up to 80 per cent of deaths in Bangladesh's biggest intensive care unit (ICU), a senior doctor has warned.

Professor Sayedur Rahman, chairman of the department of pharmacology at the Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medial University (BSMMU), told the Telegraph that out of approximately 900 patients admitted to the unit in 2018, 400 died.

And out of those deaths around 80 per cent were attributed to a bacterial or fungal infection that was resistant to antibiotics, said Dr Rahman.

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan are seen as drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) because of poor adherence to antibiotic treatment, the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics for growth promotion in farm animals, self-medication and illegal over-the-counter access to antibiotics.

"Most patients [that die] come from public ICUs where there is strictly no AMR surveillance. And this is the generator of antibacterial resistance," said Dr Rahman.