The UK would struggle to tackle a superbug epidemic – that’s the stark warning from a parliamentary committee assessing the rise of antibiotic-resistant bugs.
This article was written by Misbah Khan and originally published by The Bureau Of Investigative Journalism.
Drug-resistant infections already contribute to an estimated 35,000 deaths each year in the UK. If these infections were to grow out of control, life-saving antibiotics would stop working altogether.
A new report by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) found that the government, despite classifying antimicrobial resistance (AMR) “chronic risk”, has missed most of its key targets to tackle the threat and is now weakening its ambitions.
“There is arguably no more haunting silhouette on the horizon for the entire world than AMR,” said PAC chair Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown, Conservative MP for North Cotswolds. “If left unchecked, it could rewind medical progress by a century.”
The committee of MPs warned that trade deals, cuts to overseas aid and poor sewage management are all threatening to undermine efforts to contain the spread of superbugs.
The inquiry also uncovered failings in how the UK tracks infections, protects the environment and works with other countries to stop the spread.
This comes just a week after the National Audit Office warned that the UK is also unprepared for a major animal disease outbreak. Together, the reports highlight the wider fragility in the government’s capacity to respond to emerging health threats.
Infections have already become harder and more expensive to treat as disease-causing bacteria and other microbes are outsmarting treatment options. The PAC report warns that while the UK has strong scientific expertise, it lacks the infrastructure and coordination to respond effectively in a crisis.
One of the most serious concerns raised is the risk posed by future trade deals. The committee says the UK has failed to properly consider how agreements with countries such as the US, where antibiotics are more widely used in agriculture, could introduce resistant bacteria into the UK food chain. The report urges the government to formally assess AMR risks as part of all trade negotiations.
Cuts to international aid are also undermining global efforts. Funding to low-income countries through the UK’s Fleming Fund has aimed to improve AMR disease surveillance, but reductions to the aid budget are placing that work under pressure. The report notes that because resistant infections can travel via people, animals and food, international collaboration is essential.
In the UK, mismanagement of sewage and wastewater is allowing drug-resistant microbes to spread. Storm overflows, which release untreated sewage into waterways, occurred more than twice as often in 2023 than in 2016. But the government has not treated it as a public health priority, says the report.
Other problems it details include limited use of diagnostic tools that could reduce unnecessary antibiotic prescriptions, poor data sharing across the health system and significant health inequalities. People in the most deprived areas are 50% more likely to suffer drug-resistant bloodstream infections than those in the least deprived.
The report noted that the government spent more than half a billion pounds on its AMR programme in the three years to 2024 and says this funding must be maintained.
It also praised the UK’s antibiotic subscription model, which pays pharmaceutical companies a fixed fee for new treatments. However, MPs say this approach needs to be adopted internationally to have a meaningful impact.
The report makes nine recommendations, including integrating AMR into all trade deals, improving transparency on government progress, expanding the use of diagnostic tools, and stronger regulation of wastewater as a public health issue.
“The government must act now to shore up defences against AMR,” said Clifton-Brown. “We cannot afford to be behind the curve.”
