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Antibiotics and the other medicines that fight germs have saved millions of lives, but they are losing their power. Antimicrobial resistance happens when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites stop responding to the medicines meant to kill them. Infections then become hard, or even impossible, to treat, and the risk of spread, severe illness, disability and death goes up.

The problem is already large. In 2021, resistant bacteria were linked to more than 4.7 million deaths around the world. In 2023, about one in six laboratory-confirmed bacterial infections did not respond to antibiotics, and between 2018 and 2023 resistance rose in more than 40 per cent of the combinations of germ and medicine that were being watched.

The main cause is the misuse and overuse of these medicines. Poor sanitation and hygiene help resistant germs spread, and few new antibiotics are being developed to take the place of the old ones.

The danger reaches beyond hospitals. Resistant infections in farm animals and crops threaten the food supply, and longer illnesses mean higher costs for families and for health systems. Part of the answer lies with each of us: using antibiotics only in the right way, when they are needed, and preventing infections in the first place.