Remember when a simple strep throat could be knocked out with basic penicillin? Those days are fading fast. Each time you pop an antibiotic, microscopic bacteria are learning to fight back through plasmid transfer, efflux pumps, and enzymatic modifications – turning our wonder drugs into mere sugar pills. Fresh data from 67 countries published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) puts hard numbers to this growing crisis. Antibiotic consumption has jumped from 29.5 billion defined daily doses (DDDs) in 2016 to 34.3 billion DDDs in 2023 – a 16.3% surge. For patients, one DDD equals the … Continue reading Global Antibiotic Consumption Soars 16% to 34.3 Billion Doses Amid Alarming Resistance Trends