Even though doctors around the world are warning about the regular discovery of new superbugs, and saying that indiscriminate use of "last resort" antibiotics is threatening a major global health catastrophe, almost every major pharmaceutical company in the world has given up on research into new antibiotics.

According to an in-depth report from German public broadcaster NDR this week, the reason for this lack of preparation for the impending crisis is simple: Antibiotics simply aren't profitable.

Antibiotics are only used for a few days once in a while, and are being prescribed less as doctors become more aware of the dangers of overprescription. Instead, drug companies are focusing on lucrative medications for chronic conditions such as high cholesterol, arthritis, epilepsy and cancer.

Johnson & Johnson, Sanofi, Pfizer, AstraZeneca, Novartis, Otsuka and many others have all gutted their antibiotic development teams and moved those budgets elsewhere. This is despite a 2016 pledge signed by over 100 companies, including Johnson & Johnson and Novartis, saying they would help prevent the next epidemic by investing in ways to combat the rise of antibiotic-resistant "superbugs."

Some 33,000 people in the European Union die every year of illnesses related to superbugs, and hundreds of thousands more around the world, according to figures published in 2018.

7 of the deadliest superbugs Klebsiella pneumoniae Approximately 3-5% of the population carry Klebsiella pneumoniae. But most people can carry it without becoming sick. It's different for those with a weakened immune system or acute infections. They could suffer severe gastrointestinal infections, pneumonia, blood poisoning — it depends on where the bacteria settles. Klebsiella pneumoniae is a critical-priority drug-resistant bug, says the WHO.

7 of the deadliest superbugs Candida auris Making headlines in the US at the moment, Candida auris is an emerging fungus that's proving multidrug-resistant to antifungal medication commonly used to treat Candida infections. It's appeared on five continents so far and been so hard to get rid of some hospitals have had to close down to eliminate it. Healthy people aren't usually infected, but those who are unwell or need surgery are at risk.

7 of the deadliest superbugs Pseudomonas aeruginosa This highly resistant, "nightmare bug" has been classified by the WHO as one of the biggest threats to human health. Thriving in wet or moist places, it's one of the hardest bacteria to eradicate. It's usually only seen in people with weakened immune systems, but healthy people can also get ear and skin infections if they come into contact with it, especially after being around contaminated water.

7 of the deadliest superbugs Neisseria gonorrhea There's no vaccine for gonorrhea, so antibiotics are the only option for treating infections. But this sexually-transmitted disease is increasingly resistant to the drugs — azithromycin, cefixime and ceftriaxone — normally used to treat it. Two cases of so-called super gonorrhea were reported in Australia in 2018 and another two in the UK in early 2019. Another good reason to always wear a condom!

7 of the deadliest superbugs Salmonellae This bug is best known for causing non-typhoidal foodborne infections, but it can also cause typhoid fever in humans. In the last few decades, a highly virulant, antibiotic-resistant strain has emerged. Spread through contaminated food and water, regions including Asia and Africa are experiencing epidemics of the drug-resistant bacteria.

7 of the deadliest superbugs Acinetobacter baumannii Ranked in the highest-risk category of pathogens by the WHO, this bug is commonly found in soil and water and can take on genes from other resistant bacteria. It's able to survive in healthy patients without causing symptoms, but can cause deadly lung, blood and wound infections in unwell patients. This is why outbreaks of Acinetobacter infections are usually seen in intensive care units.

7 of the deadliest superbugs Drug resistant tuberculosis Myobacterium tuberculosis is one of the world's leading infectious diseases, causing more than 1.7 million deaths each year. It's estimated that up to 13 percent of all new tuberculosis cases are multidrug-resistant — unresponsive to two of the most potent treatments — and six percent are extensively drug-resistant, unresponsive to even more. These sufferers are more likely to get diseases or die. Author: Charli Shield



Overprescription, indiscriminate use

This week, the British government said it had detected 19 untreatable superbugs in the past decade in the United Kingdom alone.

"For me it's absolutely clear that the pharmaceutical industry has a responsibility to society" that it is not fulfilling, Ursula Theuretzbacher, an expert in antibiotics development for the World Health Organization (WHO), told NDR.

Two major related factors are driving the rise in drug-resistant infections. One is the overprescription of antibiotics — a study in the British Medical Journal last January found that one in four antibiotic prescriptions in the United States was unnecessary, a proportion that was the same in the UK until a 2015 information campaign to raise awareness among doctors and patients.

Another issue is the indiscriminate use of "last resort" antibiotics, often by farmers trying to avoid problems with livestock.

A report this week in the British publication New Statesman revealed that Chinese farmers are giving their cows colistin, known as the "last hope" antibiotic, to stave off future infections despite warnings that doing so is putting human lives in danger. The report details how this practice has led colistin-resistant bacteria to travel from cows and now to chickens, which means it is mobile and can transfer to humans.

Watch video 03:42 Share Disinfecting with Light and Dyes - a new weapon against hospital germs Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/1Harj A new weapon against hospital germs

'Post-antibiotic apocalypse'

Thomas Cueni, the head of the International Federation of Pharmaceutical Manufacturers and Associations (IFPMA), denied to NDR that the industry is forgoing its responsibilities to world health. He insisted that in 2016, $2 billion (€1.8 billion) was invested in research and development into antibiotic resistance. However, not only is this a drop in the bucket of drug companies' funds, it was applied to projects that also included preventative therapies and diagnostics.

Read more: Scientists return to roots to fight superbugs

Listen to audio 06:26 Share Overprescribing antibiotics in the Czech Republic Send Facebook google+ Whatsapp Tumblr linkedin stumble Digg reddit Newsvine Permalink https://p.dw.com/p/1FFn7 Overprescribing antibiotics in the Czech Republic

The figure Cueni mentioned is also three years old, and in that time a number of projects have been shuttered, smaller companies who had pledged to do more have gone bankrupt, and larger companies like Johnson & Johnson have categorically admitted that they have "no further antibiotics in development."

Sally Davies, the UK's chief medical officer, has warned that a "post-antibiotic apocalypse" is imminent, one that would spell "the end of modern medicine." She has called for an "Extinction Rebellion" type of protest against the lack of action by governments and drug companies, saying these terrible diseases could destroy humanity before climate change.

The scientific consensus is clear, with the United Nations estimating that drug-resistant infections could begin to kill 10 million people annually by 2050.

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