Another good reason to pollute less. According to the UN, reducing pollution from the pharmaceutical and agricultural sectors is essential to combat the proliferation of drug-resistant superbugs. The latter might kill 10 million people a year by 2050, the United Nations warned on Tuesday.
“There is growing evidence that the environment plays a key role in the development, transmission and spread” of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), UN Environment said in a report. This resistance occurs when microorganisms such as bacteria, viruses, parasites or fungi become resistant to antimicrobial treatments to which they were previously susceptible.
More than one million deaths directly attributed to these infections in 2019
An estimated 1.27 million deaths were directly attributed to drug-resistant infections in 2019, according to the UN.
This resistance is encouraged by the misuse of antibiotics, but the UN highlights other factors less frequently highlighted: it is “closely linked to the triple planetary crisis of climate change, loss of biodiversity and nature , as well as pollution and waste. Pollution, linked in particular to the pharmaceutical industry and agriculture, in fact allows antimicrobials to enter the environment, starting with rivers.
“It’s a real problem, because rivers are often the source of our drinking water,” microbiologist Jonathan Cox, from Britain’s Aston University, told AFP. the UN.
Thus, the pharmaceutical industry is invited by the UN to “ensure adequate containment and treatment of waste and wastewater”, with a general strengthening of the regulatory framework. Hospitals should also install specific wastewater treatment systems and guarantee the disposal of drugs, experts recommend. In agriculture, for example, it is suggested to “reassess the limits of antimicrobials” and “reduce discharges” to protect waterways.