Read, Watch or Listen

The WHO sounded the alarm over surging drug-resistant infections, warning that one in six lab-confirmed bacterial cases worldwide in 2023 defied antibiotics. Resistance increased in over 40% of monitored drugs. Globally, over 40% of E. coli and 55% of K. pneumoniae infections now resist third-generation cephalosporins, the first-choice treatment. Surveillance is patchy - 48% of countries reported no AMR data - leaving many countries "flying blind." The highest resistance was reported in Southeast Asia and the Eastern Mediterranean (about one in three), and in Africa (one in five), amid too few new tests and treatments.

Prepared by Olivia Bennett and reviewed by editorial team.