Infections and deaths caused by antibiotic resistance continue to increase in Europe – the situation has deteriorated in Finland as well
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According to a recent report by European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), the disease burden caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria – i.e., infections, attributable deaths, and loss of disability-adjusted life years – increased between 2016 and 2019 in the EU and the European Economic Area (EEA).
In 2016, just over 30,700 people died from infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria in Europe. There were clearly more deaths in 2019, approximately 38,700.
E. coli, MRSA and K. pneumoniae have the greatest disease burden also in Finland
According to the report, the highest disease burden was caused by Escherichia coli bacteria resistant to third generation cephalosporins. The following are MRSA (methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus) and Klebsiella pneumoniae bacteria, which are resistant to third generation cephalosporins.
The aforementioned E. coli and K. pneumoniae usually have an ESBL agent, i.e., they produce broad-spectrum beta-lactase enzymes that break down antibiotics and weaken their function.
The number of infections caused by ESBL-E. coli, K. pneumoniae and MRSA isolated from blood have also increased in Finland.
“Due to antibiotic resistance, more and more years of functional capacity are lost. More than 70% of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria are healthcare-associated infections. The prevention of infections caused by resistant microbes is part of patient safety,” says Jari Jalava, Senior expert at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare.
Pandemic year 2020 improved the situation slightly
In 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic was already underway, the number of deaths due to antibiotic resistance and, also the number of disability-adjusted life years decreased slightly compared to 2019.
“Prevention measures during the pandemic may have reduced the number of infections caused by resistant bacteria and the disease burden. It is also possible that fewer infectious diseases were diagnosed and observed during the pandemic, which may partly explain the reduction in disease burden,” Jalava says.
European Antibiotic Awareness Day is on 18 November.
Further information
Healthcare-associated infections (THL)
Customer and patient safety strategy and implementation plan 2022–2026 (Government, in Finnish)
Jari Jalava
Chief Specialist
THL
tel. +358 (0)29 524 6629
[email protected]
