Antibiotic-resistant infections exceed pre-pandemic levels – warns UKHSA

The UK recorded an estimated 66,730 serious antibiotic-resistant infections in 2023, surpassing the pre-pandemic figure of 62,314 in 2019, a new report
from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has revealed.

Antibiotic resistant bacteria are less likely to respond to treatment and can cause serious complications, including bloodstream infections, sepsis and
hospitalisation.

The national surveillance data published by the UKHSA showed that E. coli – a common cause of urinary tract infections, diarrhoea, vomiting and fever,
accounted for 65 per cent of antibiotic-resistant bloodstream infections in the last five years.

The English Surveillance of Antibiotic Prescribing and Utilisation Report (ESPAUR) highlighted a stark disparity in infection rates.

People in the most deprived communities were 42.6 per cent more likely to experience an antibiotic-resistant infection in 2023 compared to those in the
least deprived areas, a significant rise from 29.4 per cent in 2019.

Overall, resistant infection rates in the most deprived areas of England increased by 9.5 per cent between 2019 and 2023.