Key Summary
- Antibiotic-resistant infections and deaths rose in 2024, including a 9.3 per cent jump in bacteraemia
- Private antibiotic use more than doubled, driving a 10.7 per cent rise in primary care prescribing since 2019
- Deprived groups face 47 per cent higher resistant infection rates, with adults 45+ most affected
The UK Health Security Agency’s (UKHSA) national surveillance data for 2024 shows an increase in antibiotic-resistant infection cases and the number of deaths.
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are mostly unresponsive to treatments leading to health concerns like bacteraemia, sepsis, and hospitalisation.
The death toll caused by antibiotic-resistant infection increased from 2,041 in 2023 to 2,379 in 2024.
Nearly 400 cases were reported every week in 2024.
In case of bacteraemia, bacteria circulate in blood, and it is fatal. The number of bacteraemia cases have increased by 9.3 percent since 2023, rising from 18,740 cases in 2023 to 20,484 in 2024.
While antibiotic use within the NHS is below 2019 pre-pandemic levels, but private prescribing has increased.
Between 2019 and 2024, NHS primary care antibiotic use decreased (from 14.21 to 13.96 DID), while private dispensing in community pharmacies more than doubled (1.95 to 3.93 DID).
Overall, primary care antibiotic use (NHS and private non-NHS) rose by 10.7 per cent between 2019 and 2024, reflecting a large rise in private prescriptions, with 22 percent of antibiotics in 2024 dispensed through the private sector.
The 2024 data also highlights a widening gap between people living in the most and least deprived areas of society when it comes to chances of acquiring an antibiotic-resistant infection.
People living in the most deprived communities had a 47.2 percent higher rate of resistant bacteraemia compared to those in the least deprived areas.
The difference in rate between the most and least deprived populations has widened from a 29 percent difference in 2019 to a 47 percent difference in 2024.
Adults over the age of 45 years continue to be the most at risk, accounting for 90 percent of cases as they are more likely to develop multiple medical conditions as they get older.
UKHSA chief executive Professor Susan Hopkins described antibiotic resistance as “one of the greatest health threats we face”.
“More people than ever are acquiring infections that cannot be effectively treated by antibiotics. This puts them at greater risk of serious illness and even death, with our poorest communities hit the hardest.”
She advised the public to take antibiotics only if they have been told to do so by a healthcare professional.
“Do not save some for later or share them with friends and family. If you have leftover antibiotics, please bring them to a pharmacy for appropriate disposal.”
Within the NHS overall antibiotic use in 2024 was 2 percent lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic baseline, it remained above 2019 levels among children and young people.
For the first time, the ESPAUR report includes antibiotic prescribing data from the new Pharmacy First service, as well as from GPs and dentists.
The majority of antibiotics prescribed in 2024 were in primary care (79.6 per cent), within which Pharmacy First accounted for 4 per cent.
The prescribing levels in general practice and dentistry remain below the 2019 levels.
