Episode 51: Antimicrobial resistance

Oct 1, 2024

Discover the looming threat of superbugs and their potential to render infections untreatable. The hosts investigate the dramatic rise of antimicrobial resistance, including claims of millions of expected deaths. They challenge traditional beliefs about antibiotic use and emphasize the need for accurate data in combating public health risks. Amidst global health discussions, they highlight historical antibiotic impacts and the current fight against resistant strains, weaving in a touch of humor and pop culture references.

Ask episode

AI Snips

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

INSIGHT

Antimicrobial Resistance as a Major Fear

Antibiotic resistance is a major fear because it threatens the effectiveness of essential medical procedures.
This fear persists alongside other global concerns like climate change and nuclear war.

INSIGHT

Antibiotics' Life-Saving Role

Antibiotics revolutionized treatment of infectious diseases and drastically reduced deaths from infections.
They are critical for prophylaxis in surgeries and childbirth, preventing infections before they occur.

INSIGHT

Antimicrobial Resistance via Evolution

Antibiotics kill bacteria but select for resistant strains, exemplifying natural selection.
Bacteria with traits resisting antibiotics survive and reproduce, reducing antibiotic effectiveness over time.

Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode

Get the app

There are an awful lot of things to worry about in the world. Are “superbugs” among them? That is, how worried should we be that bacteria will develop resistance to our best antibiotics, meaning infections will run rampant and even basic surgery is out of the question?

In this episode of The Studies Show, Tom and Stuart wash their hands and then dig in to the evidence on the coming antimicrobial crisis. Exactly how many deaths can we expect from untreatable resistant infections? Turns out the question is, ahem, resistant to easy answers. (Sorry).

The Studies Show is brought to you by Works in Progress magazine. Every issue, every article, gives you a new perspective on a topic you thought you knew about, or a totally new topic to think about. In their most recent issue, you can read about inflation, ancient scrolls and AI, genetic engineering, and the evolution of coffee. We’re grateful that they support the podcast; you can read their whole site for free at worksinprogress.co.

Show notes

* Andreas Bäumler on “the coming microbial crisis”

* Possible source for how many people used to die in surgery

* BMJ article on the evidence (or lack of) showing that completing an antibiotic course is necessary

* Satirical post on how the length of a course is calculated

* Our World In Data on how many people die from cancer each year

* UK Government review of antimicrobial resistance (from 2014), giving the 10m figure.

* More mentions of 10m here (NHS), and here (Guardian)

* 2016 paper in PLOS Medicine criticising the modelling that led to the 10m figure

* September 2024 paper in the Lancet with a more up-to-date calculation

* EU report on how MRSA rates dropped

* Article on the wildly successful UK attempt to cut MRSA infections

* Study on how many antibiotics are in the clinical “pipeline”

* Thread on studies showing that using antibiotics prophylactically cut child mortality in sub-Sarahan Africa by 14%

Credits

* The Studies Show is produced by Julian Mayers at Yada Yada Productions.

This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.thestudiesshowpod.com/subscribe