Bacterial infections account for one in eight of all deaths in 2019, according to a study, published in The Lancet, which analyzed deaths from 33 common bacterial pathogens and 11 types of infection in 204 countries and territories.
Pathogens were associated with 7.7 million deaths -13.6% of the world total- in 2019, the year before the Covid-19 pandemic took off.
That made them the second leading cause of death after ischemic heart disease, which includes heart attacks, the study said.
Just five of the 33 bacteria were responsible for half of those deaths: Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Klebsiella pneumoniae y Pseudomonas aeruginosa.
The S aureus It is a common bacterium on human skin and nasal passages, but it is behind a number of diseases, while E. coli often causes food poisoning.
The study was carried out within the framework of the Global Burden of Disease, a large research program funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation involving thousands of researchers from around the world.
“These new data reveal for the first time the full magnitude of the global public health challenge posed by bacterial infections,” said study co-author Christopher Murray, director of the US-based Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation. .
“It is of paramount importance to put these results on the radar of global health initiatives so that a deeper dive into these deadly pathogens can be made and the right investments are made to dramatically reduce the number of deaths and infections.”
The research points to stark differences between poor and rich regions.
In the sub saharan africa occurred 230 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants due to bacterial infections.
That number dropped to 52 per 100,000 in what the study called the “high-income superregion,” which includes countries in Western Europe, North America and Australasia.
The authors call for increased funding, including for new vaccinesto reduce the number of deaths, and also warn of the “unjustified use of antibiotics.”
The hand washing It is one of the recommended measures to prevent infection.