Most countries not protecting antibiotics, says WHO

Three-quarters of countries do not have plans in place to preserve antimicrobial medicines, the World Health Organization says.
The body has repeatedly warned that the globe is heading into a "post-antibiotic era" in which much of modern medicine becomes impossible.
 

Its report showed "a lot more needs to be done" to prevent the rise of resistance in a range of infections.
Experts said it was an "appalling state of affairs".
It is in the very nature of microbes to develop resistance to the drugs we use against them.
 

If the drugs stop working, then common infections, such as tuberculosis, will kill again. Surgery and cancer treatment are also reliant on the drugs to keep patients alive.
While much of the attention has been on antibiotics, there are also warnings around HIV resistance to antiviral drugs and the malaria parasite becoming resistant to the last treatment.