In the face of the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance, a recent study of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNSA) found that the antibiotic consumption rate in low and middle-income countries has substantially increased in recent years. At the same time, inequities in drug access persist in many countries, with high rates of infectious disease-related mortality, according to the study.

The study entitled “Global increase and geographic convergence in antibiotic consumption between 2000 and 2015” was carried out in 76 countries. It shows that antibiotic consumption rate in low and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been converging and sometime surpassing levels observed in high-income countries.

The study also projected total global antibiotic consumption through 2030, with a skyrocketing increase up to 200 percent higher than the 2015 estimates, in the absence of policy change. Between 2000 and 2015, the antibiotic consumption rate increased by 39 percent, which was driven by LMICs. In high-income countries the consumption “increased modestly.”

Of particular concern for the study’s authors was the “rapid increase in the use of last-resort compounds,” in high-income countries and LMICs alike.

“Reducing global consumption is critical for reducing the threat of antibiotic resistance, but reduction efforts must balance access limitations in LMICs and take account of local and global resistance patterns,” the authors said.