Health experts have called on Europe to curb its reliance on antibiotics as the threat of drug resistance grows – but some countries are using the medicines at much higher rates than others.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when pathogens such as bacteria or viruses evolve to the point where they can evade existing drugs, making infections harder to treat. The overuse of antibiotics can speed up AMR, which causes more than 35,000 deaths every year in the European Union, Iceland, Liechtenstein, and Norway.
