Global Mortality Associated with 33 Bacterial Pathogens 

Global Mortality Associated with 33 Bacterial Pathogens 

Reducing mortality from infections is clearly one of the global public health priorities. Earlier studies have estimated the deaths associated with drug-resistant infections and sepsis. The conclusion was: infections are still the leading cause of death worldwide.   

Recently The Lancet published a study funded by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Wellcome Trust, and the Department of Health and Social Care, using UK aid funding managed by the Fleming Fund. Probably, it is the first study that presents global comprehensive estimates of mortality due to 33 bacterial pathogens in 11 major infectious syndromes. After all, understanding the global burden of common bacterial pathogens is vital for finding out the greatest threats to public health.  

How was the research done? The study covered mortality associated with 33 bacteria, using data from all ages and gender in 204 countries or territories in 2019. And included resistant, as well as susceptible to antimicrobial bacteria, except Mycobacterium tuberculosis, as they are already under the scrutiny of a global public health initiative. Used information was derived from death certificates, hospital discharge records, mortality surveillance, literature reviews, microbial data, and estimates from the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study. Three modeling steps were used to estimate the number of deaths related to each pathogen: deaths in which infection played a role, deaths because of the infection that related to a given infectious syndrome, and deaths because of the infection that related to a given pathogen.