Biosecurity

'Superbugs' could cost $100 trillion - and millions of lives - by 2050: Report

Drug-resistant infections - or "superbugs" – could claim 10 million lives a year and could cost a cumulative $100 trillion of economic output by 2050 if the world does not act to slow down the rise of drug resistance, a new report warned.

According to a global review on antimicrobial resistance (AMR), drug-resistant infections are "one of the biggest health threats that mankind currently faces" and there are fears of pandemics becoming more of a norm as antibiotics lose their efficacy.

The review was chaired by economist Jim O'Neill and he warned in the report that the world was already witnessing the alarming rise of "superbugs" that doctors are powerless to prevent or cure.