Antibiotic-resistant infections, a "global health emergency," says Matt Hancock

Drug-resistant disease is to be considered a "global health emergency," said the health secretary, who unveils a plan to reduce antibiotic-resistant infections by 10 percent by 2025 in British patients.

The phenomenon poses such a serious threat to humanity as war and climate change, says Matt Hanbad at the World Economic Forum in Davos, warning that routine surgical procedures, including hip operations and caesareans, could become " too risky "is not checked.

"What would you pbad through the head if your child cut his finger and you knew that there was no longer any antibiotic capable of treating an infection? It was the human condition until almost a century ago. I do not want it to be my children's future, "he says.

As part of this plan, the NHS and the National Institute for Excellence in Health and Care will attempt to devise a new way to pay pharmaceutical companies based on the value of health services , rather than the volume of antibiotics provided, within six months, the government announced.

Additional funding will also be provided to small businesses to develop new treatments, particularly those targeting resistant strains that need to be treated urgently.

The government's own data show that although the amount of antibiotics used in the UK has decreased by 7% since 2014 – and that sales for use in food-producing animals by 40% – the number of Drug-resistant blood flow infections increased by 35%. between 2013 and 2017.

Blood infections affect the whole body, as opposed to those affecting only the sinuses or the throat, for example. Among Hanbad's new goals is the commitment to halve the incidence of these infections by 2024, the Ministry of Health confirmed: L & # 39; s independent.

The government will also announce the details of 14 research projects funded by a global fund to fight drug-resistant infections. New targets to reduce the use of antibiotics in animals will be introduced by 2021, as a result of a commitment to reduce the use of an animal. quarter between 2016 and 2020, the statement said.

Dr. Hanbad's strategy will include "new mechanisms to leverage patient data in real time, to help clinicians understand when to use and store antibiotics in their treatment and to inform new development of new therapies." interventions, "the government said in a statement.

The statement also noted that more than a fifth of antibiotic prescriptions in primary care are "inappropriate," adding that resistant infections cost the NHS about 88 million pounds a year. Mr Hanbad wants to reduce by 15% the use of antibiotics in humans.

Professor Helen Stokes-Lampard, President of the Royal College of GPs, said, "This is an issue that affects society as a whole and can not be held responsible in any way.

"We need to reach a stage where antibiotics are not perceived by patients as a miracle solution for every disease, but rather as a serious drug option, usually reserved for cases where all other treatment options have failed or have been tried. inappropriate. "

Dr. Hanbad's "20-year vision" is that antimicrobial resistance will be under control by 2040.