According to research, more than 1.2 million people died globally in 2019 from diseases caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This figure is higher than the yearly death toll from malaria or AIDS.

Poorer nations are the most affected, but antimicrobial resistance affects everyone, according to the research. To defend against it, it is advised that urgent investments in novel medications be made, as well as that existing treatments be used more judiciously.

Antibiotics are becoming less efficient against dangerous illnesses due to their misuse in recent years for minor diseases and to the germs causing the diseases to develop resistance to treatment.

Some UK experts warn that unless antibiotics are distributed responsibly, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) could be a "hidden pandemic" waiting to arise.

The estimate of worldwide AMR fatalities, published in The Lancet, is based on an examination of 204 nations conducted by a team of international researchers led by the University of Washington in the US.

They estimate that up to five million people died in 2019 as a result of diseases in which AMR played a role, in addition to the 1.2 million fatalities it directly caused.

AIDS (acquired immune deficiency syndrome) is reported to have killed 860,000 people in the same year, while malaria killed 640,000.

Lower respiratory infections, such as pneumonia and bloodstream infections, which may lead to sepsis, were responsible for the majority of AMR fatalities.

MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) proved particularly lethal, while E. Coli and a number of other bacteria were also associated with high levels of treatment resistance.

Researchers concluded that young children are the most vulnerable, with about one in every five AMR-related deaths occurring among children under the age of five.

The greatest rate is in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with 24 fatalities per 100,000 people; the lowest rate is in high-income nations, with 13 deaths per 100,000 people.

Professor Chris Murray of the University of Washington's Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation said the findings are a clear sign that immediate action was needed "if we want to stay ahead in the race against antimicrobial resistance."

According to some specialists, greater tracking of resistance levels in different countries and areas is critical.

According to Dr. Ramanan Laxminarayan of the Centre for Disease Dynamics, Economics, and Policy in Washington DC, worldwide funding on AMR should be increased to levels observed for other illnesses.

"Spending needs to be directed to preventing infections in the first place, making sure existing antibiotics are used appropriately and judiciously, and to bringing new antibiotics to market," he said.

Dr. Laxminarayan added that the limited access to inexpensive, efficient antibiotics needs to be taken seriously by political and health authorities worldwide.