bacteria is a dominant form of life on Earth
by mass and by number
there is more
bacteria
in a teaspoon of soil
~1 trillion
than
humans
who have ever lived
~ 0.1 trillion
only a tiny fraction of bacteria are harmful
less than 2% are causing disease in
humans, animals or plants
but these once posed major problems to humankind
in 1900, infectious diseases were
the leading cause of death
but things were about to change…
Alexander Fleming stumbled upon penicillin —
the first true antibiotic
it took some time before it was widely used
but it opened the door to what is now called
the golden era of antibiotics
It marked a turning point in human health
Infections, once our greatest killers, lost their grip —
their numbers collapsed
But the story is not over
Overuse leaves many antibiotics failing,
as drug-resistant bacteria emerge and reclaim the stage.
In 2050, resistant infections may directly cause 1.91 million and contribute to 8.22 million deaths.
This will likely be more than 8% of all 2050 deaths worldwide.
Roughly one in every 12.
Or possibly more...
Will we act in time to stop history repeating?