A surge in funding is set to boost the global battle against drug-resistant superbugs, with the UK government and pharmaceutical company GSK committing a total of £130mn to tackle growing antimicrobial resistance.
The pledges will be made at an international meeting of ministers and health experts on Thursday in London, where participants will present the case for stronger action and increased funding against superbugs ahead of a UN conference on antimicrobial resistance in September.
Evolution drives microbes — bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites — to develop mechanisms to protect themselves from the treatments designed to kill them and prevent disease. Excessive or inappropriate use of these drugs, in medicine and agriculture, has accelerated the process in recent decades.