Did you know that more than half a million people die every year because they no longer respond to antibiotics, have you ever wondered why more and more people are falling victim to bacterial infections, why common diseases like a skin infection or bacterial pneumonia? They are becoming more and more deadly, one of the reasons and the culprits has just been revealed, the air we breathe.
A recent scientific study established a very worrying connection between air pollution and antibiotic resistance, with a 10% increase in air pollution antibiotic resistance increases by 1%, at first glance this figure may seem not very big, not very alarming, but it is one of the most urgent challenges for global health, since it already affects more than seven billion people.
Harvard University published a study that supports this statement, showing that exposure to air pollution is related to greater bacterial resistance, obviously in infections, as air quality decreases, bacteria can develop defense mechanisms. against common antibiotics, according to research, airborne particles can carry antibiotic-resistant genes and spread them in different environments creating fertile ground for much more resistant bacteria.
This spread can affect the treatment of common diseases such as tuberculosis and obviously pneumonia, and by the year 2050 if we do not improve air quality, the World Health Organization estimates that about 10 million people will die annually due to resistance to antibiotics, this even exceeds the number of cancer deaths today which is approximately 8.2 million per year, plus a World Bank report highlights that this phenomenon could lead to a massive economic loss comparable to the 2008 financial crisis.
Fighting resistant diseases and infections will become more expensive and economies could lose up to 3.8 of their annual domestic product.
Air pollution is a global phenomenon and no matter how old you are, where you live, it is affecting your health in ways you never imagined, antibiotic resistance once mainly attributed to the misuse of these drugs is now linked to the quality of air. air we breathe, thanks to traffic pollution, industrial fumes, burning coal and wood, among others.
The connection between antibiotic resistance and unclean air is growing stronger by the day, and add to that all the wildfires that are raging all over the world.
Minor injuries can become fatal, many surgeries could not be carried out because antibiotics could no longer prevent further infections,
A recent global study that compiled data from 166 countries has exposed this stark reality, germs are winning the battle, they are defeating the drugs designed to kill them, what once caused no alarm has now become a growing and palpable threat.
And it's not just about figures behind every percentage there are human lives, more than a million people who do not respond to antibiotics are dying every year; In a world where infectious diseases are re-emerging, antibiotic resistance fueled by air pollution is not a problem we can afford to ignore.
The alarm has sounded, we are ready to act or we will let this subtle murderer continue to advance and apart from the human cost that this has, we face a devastating economic cost.
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