G20 health ministers seek to avert return to 'pre-penicillin era'

BERLIN (Reuters) - The world risks a return to the pre-penicillin era if leading nations do not cooperate to combat the threat from antibiotic-resistant bugs and means are not found to finance research into new, more effective medicine, Germany's health minister said.

Speaking ahead of Friday's first meeting of health ministers from the Group of 20 leading developed and developing economies, Hermann Groehe said more collaboration was needed to minimise the risk posed by possible pandemics.