Bacteria vs. Antibiotics
Antibiotic resistance across Europe
The development of antibiotics has added an average of 20 years to our lives, according to the World Health Organization. But bacteria are becoming increasingly resistant to antibiotics, posing a significant risk as common infections become untreatable. It is estimated that more than 25,000 patients die annually in the EU due to multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacterial infections. Using the latest available data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control we show the resistance levels of five bacteria to antibiotics across Europe.
Escherichia coli
Percentage of invasive isolates with resistance to third-generation cephalosporin antibiotics
Klebsiella pneumoniae
Percentage of invasive isolates with resistance to carbapenem antibiotics
Acinetobacter species
Percentage of invasive isolates with combined resistance to fluoroquinolone, aminoglycoside & carbapenem antibiotics
Staphylococcus aureus
Percentage of invasive isolates with resistance to the antibiotic methicillin (MRSA)
Enterococcus faecium
Percentage of invasive isolates with resistance to the antibiotic vancomycin
A call to action
The fight against antibiotic resistance is one in which we can all play a part. By doing so we can help to safeguard these precious drugs for future generations. The World Health Organization recommends following these simple steps to help reduce antibiotic resistance:
Developed by Dr. Cath Sleeman, quantitative research fellow at Nesta, and produced by Nina Cromeyer Dieke, digital content editor for the Longitude Prize at Nesta. Our thanks go to Dr. Adam P. Roberts at University College London, advisor to the Longitude Prize, for his scientific input and support.
Notes: All data come from the "Summary of the latest data on antibiotic resistance in the European Union" published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Regions are based on the United Nations classification system, with the exception of Cyprus which is classified as Western Asia, but is included in the report. The EU/EEA figures are based on a population-weighted mean. Some significant trends in the overall data were not observed when only data from laboratories consistently reporting for all four years were included. In these cases, the changes have not been marked by red/blue lines. For more information on data collection and analysis, please consult the EARS-Net reporting protocol.