HEALTH INTEL: Global Antibiotic Resistance Crisis The WHO estimates antibiotic resistance causes 1.27 million deaths annually and could drive 10 million deaths per year by 2050 if unchecked. This accelerated resistance stems from overuse in livestock (70% of global antibiotic consumption), inadequate sewage treatment in developing nations, and incomplete antibiotic courses in patients. The last new class of antibiotics was discovered in 1987, while bacteria now routinely develop resistance within 5-10 years of drug introduction. This matters because we're approaching a pre-antibiotic era where routine surgeries, childbirth, and minor infections become life-threateningāpotentially erasing 70 years of modern medicine's foundational advance.