Bacteria are among the leading causes of death worldwide. Bacterial infections can be fatal. Five pathogens are particularly dangerous, as an international study shows.
Washington – Many bacteria are important to our health. But there are bacteria that make us sick. Salmonella on food can cause severe diarrheal diseases. Staphylococci can cause abscesses or blood poisoning (sepsis). Bacteria are responsible for diseases such as tuberculosis, scarlet fever and whooping cough.
Bacterial infection: The deadliest pathogen is Staphylococcus aureus
Bacterial infections have been the second leading cause of death worldwide. This was the result of an international analysis published in the specialist magazine The Lancet was published and refers to data from 2019. Bacteria were responsible for every eighth death. According to the analysis, 33 pathogens were responsible for 7.7 million deaths in 2019. Five bacteria were responsible for more than half of the deaths:
- Staphylococcus aureus (1.1 million deaths)
- Escherichia coli (950,000)
- Streptococcus pneumoniae (829,000)
- Klebsiella pneumoniae (790,000)
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa (559,000)
Particularly striking: According to the researchers, only one organism – Staphylococcus aureus – is associated with more than a million deaths.
The causes of death were predominantly bacterial infections of the lower respiratory tract – lungs, bronchi and trachea, infections of the bloodstream (English: blood stream infection) and infections of the peritoneum and abdominal cavity.
Dangerous bacteria: According to researchers, pathogens differ according to age and region
The deadliest bacterial pathogens and types of infection vary by location and age, the scientists also found: Staphylococcus aureus was associated with the most deaths in people over 15 years of age and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhi in children between 5 and 14 years of age. In children up to 5 years of age, S. pneumoniae was the deadliest pathogen and in newborns Klebsiella pneumoniae.
Deadly bacterial infection: mortality rate particularly high in one region
The researchers recorded the highest death rate in sub-Saharan Africa, at 230 deaths per 100,000 people. The lowest mortality rate, at 52 deaths per 100,000 people, is in the “high-income superregion” – which includes countries in Western Europe, North America and Australasia. The authors of the study point out weaknesses in their analysis. Only limited data is available, especially in poorer countries of the world.
But according to the researchers, the study provides the first global estimate of mortality with 33 most common bacterial pathogens. “These new data demonstrate for the first time the full extent of the global public health challenge posed by bacterial infections,” said Dr. Christopher Murray, study co-author and director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) at the University of Washington School of Medicine, according to a press release. “It is of paramount importance to put these findings on the radar of global health initiatives so that these deadly pathogens can be studied more closely and appropriate investments made to reduce the number of deaths and infections.”
Researchers call for strategy in the fight against bacteria
So far, there have been no estimates of which parts of the world people are most affected by bacterial infections, the researchers write. They see the study as a guide to reducing bacterial infections and thus deaths. Health systems would have to be strengthened and laboratories enlarged. The use of antibiotics must also be optimized and controlled in order to avoid resistance.
Antibiotic resistance – Experts warn of resistant germs
There are pathogenic bacteria against which antibiotics are no longer effective. According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), around 50,000 people in Germany contract antibiotic-resistant pathogens every year. “About two-thirds of these are diseases acquired in the hospital,” said Tim Eckmanns, head of surveillance of antibiotic resistance at the RKI last week. There are around 2,500 deaths recorded by the RKI every year from multi-resistant pathogens.
In Europe, more than 35,000 people die every year from infections with resistant bacteria. The EU health authority points this out ECDC in a recent report. “We are seeing worrying increases in the number of deaths attributed to infections with antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” ECDC Director Andrea Ammon said ahead of Friday’s European Antibiotic Awareness Day. More needs to be done to ensure that antibiotics are not used unnecessarily.
Antibiotics only help against bacteria – survey reveals serious knowledge gap
There is a lot of ignorance when it comes to antibiotics. According to a survey, only half of Europeans know that antibiotics do not kill viruses, but only work against bacterial infections. According to a Eurobarometer survey, 39 percent of Europeans believe that antibiotics help against viruses and 11 percent of citizens said they did not know the answer to this question. However, antibiotics only help with a bacterial infection. (ml)
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