UNEP says anti-microbial resistance threat to global health security

NAIROBI, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- The growing crisis of antimicrobial resistance presents an existential threat to the health of humans, animals, food crops, and the natural world, says the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) in a report launched in the Kenyan capital of Nairobi on Tuesday.

Partly fueled by untreated waste emanating from mechanized agriculture and healthcare industries, antimicrobial resistance could trigger up to 10 million deaths annually by 2050, similar to the 2020 rate of global cancer fatalities, the report says.