Why are “Superbugs” on the Rise Globally?

Drug-resistant bacteria — also known as superbugs — are on the rise globally, and they're now killing more people each year than either HIV/AIDS or malaria. A new study, published in the medical journal The Lancet, that finds that in 2019, drug-resistant infections directly killed 1.2 million people and played a role in 5 million more deaths worldwide. These deadly new strains of bacteria are causing untreatable blood infections, fatal pneumonia, relentless urinary tract infections, gangrenous wounds and terminal cases of sepsis, among other conditions. Researchers say they are concerned that bacteria are evolving and learning how to evade what had been some of the world's most powerful drugs.