UK government sets out antimicrobial resistance plan

The UK Government has introduced a five-year national action plan detailing how the UK will contribute to containing and controlling the growing global problem of antimicrobial resistance. This, along with a 20-year long-term vision, follows on from the five-year plan begun in 2013.

Without any action, the government says, antibiotic resistance is predicted to kill 10 million people a year by 2050, and render routine operations extremely hazardous. Since 2014, UK antibiotic use has fallen by 7%, and by 40% in food-producing animals. Yet the number of drug-resistant bloodstream infections rose by 35% in the five years to 2017.