Antimicrobial resistant (AMR) microorganisms, also known as superbugs, increasingly threaten every person on Earth, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and national experts.

“Antimicrobial resistance is one of the most urgent health risks of our time and threatens to undo a century of medical progress,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who recently called for AMR action across all government sectors and society as new AMR microorganisms emerge and spread globally…

Without effective antimicrobials for the prevention and treatment of AMR infections, the WHO says that medical procedures including organ transplantation, cancer chemotherapy, diabetes management and major surgery also become very high risk.

At the same time, a mass casualty event could worsen the situation, Phyllis Arthur, vice president of infectious diseases and diagnostics policy at the Biotechnology Innovation Organization (BIO), said in an interview with Homeland Preparedness News.

“AMR is a major public health problem that poses a national security risk,” said Arthur, who is also an adviser to BIO’s Working to Fight AMR initiative.

More from Homeland Preparedness News here.