Antibiotics are praised as miracle drugs.
However, bacteria that adapt and change, outwitting the very medications meant to combat them and treat the diseases they cause, are becoming a more formidable foe.
One medical magazine, The Lancet, reports that in 2021, these antibiotic-resistant “superbugs” directly contributed to 1.14 million deaths internationally. In the majority of these cases, antibiotics—which are thought to be the first line of defense against serious infections—did not work.
Among those most severely affected by “antimicrobial resistance” is India. Antibiotic-resistant diseases killed almost 300,000 people in 2019 alone. Nearly 60,000 newborns die every year as a result of them alone.
