Signal Severe antibiotic-resistant infections in England rose 6.6% to nearly 58,000

Summary

The report cites trends in antibiotic-resistant infections in England as evidence that the AMR risk is growing. Severe resistant infections dipped during the COVID-19 pandemic but then increased by 6.6% between 2020 and 2022. This brought the total close to 58,000 cases, near the level seen before the pandemic. The report explains that more resistant infections would strain health services, with extra workload from additional treatments and side effects as fewer drugs still work, and fewer beds because patients stay longer. It also expects high-risk groups to lose quality of life as once simple infections become potentially lethal.