Check: Yes, a drug-resistant superbug could kill tens of millions of people by 2050

SAN ANTONIO — After going through something like the coronavirus pandemic, many people may be wondering what the next devastating disease will be. In today's Verify, we examine a claim about what might await us with these dire diseases in the future.

COVID was bad enough, but what if another disease emerged that could endanger the lives of many more people than have died during the pandemic?

Is it true that a drug-resistant superbug could kill tens of millions of people by 2050?

• Dr. Jason Bowling, an infectious disease specialist at University Health and professor of infectious diseases at UT Health San Antonio
• Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance, or GRAM for short

Dr. Bowling says the problems include a growing population and bacteria that are increasingly resistant to antibiotics.

“This will continue to increase depending on developments over the last 20 years. And that's the big concern, that this could really be a reasonable estimate based on population growth and the growth of these resistant bacteria,” said Dr. Bowling.

Dr. Bowling added that people need to have access to vaccines and not overmedicate.

“We need to make sure antibiotics are used appropriately, that's why we don't treat viral infections with antibiotics because the more bacteria are exposed to antibiotics, the more resistance we see,” said Dr. Bowling.

The GRAM study looked at 204 countries between 1990 and 2021 and found that there was an increase of over 80 percent in deaths due to antibiotic resistance among those over 70. Up to 169 million deaths could be predicted by 2050.

So yes, it's true. A drug-resistant superbug could kill tens of millions of people by 2050.

Dr. Bowling also emphasized not to use antibiotics if you have a viral infection because they simply don't help.