The extreme heat that has recently engulfed the United States is a clear sign of climate change. But rising temperatures are driven by more than just hot summers. Climate change is contributing to the spread of drug-resistant infections. And worryingly, the drugs we use to fight these pathogens are losing their effectiveness.
Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, occurs when bacteria, viruses and other pathogens evolve to resist the effects of drugs, making common infections more difficult to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, serious illness and death. Recent data have linked AMR to nearly 5 million deaths per year, far more than AIDS and malaria combined. By 2050, more people will die from drug-resistant infections than from cancer today.
Climate change accelerates the spread of these superbugs and provides favorable conditions for the growth and spread of pathogens. Higher temperatures can increase the rate at which bacteria and viruses reproduce, expand the range of habitats suitable for pathogens, and even increase the chances of gene transfer between bacteria, leading to more robust strains of drug-resistant microbes. (Howard Dean, more at thenationalherald.com)