Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been declared one of the top 10 global public health threats to humanity, and it didn’t disappear once the COVID-19 pandemic appeared. Instead, it’s gotten worse, as infection control measures and hand hygiene using antimicrobial gels have become ubiquitous.
AMR causes about 700,000 deaths globally every year, but researchers estimated in mid-2020 that an additional 130,000 AMR deaths would occur in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The number of AMR deaths will likely surpass the number of COVID-19 deaths by at least threefold — annually — by 2050, with some estimates suggesting AMR deaths may reach as high as 10 million deaths per year.
