The extreme heat that recently blanketed the United States is a clear sign of climate change. But rising temperatures are fueling more than just hotter summers. Climate change is contributing to the spread of drug-resistant infections. And alarmingly, the medicines we use to fight those pathogens are losing their effectiveness.
Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, occurs when bacteria, viruses, and other pathogens evolve to resist the effects of medications, making common infections harder to treat and increasing the risk of disease spread, severe illness, and death. Recent figures link AMR to nearly 5 million deaths annually — far more than the combined death toll of AIDS and malaria. By 2050, more people will die of drug-resistant infections than currently die of cancer.
