Outbreak

OUTBREAK is a pioneering transdisciplinary and multi-institutional
initiative that is uniquely skilled to solve the growing problem of
antibiotic resistance.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) occurs when bacteria and other microbes become resistant to the medicines used to kill them allowing them to spread and cause life-threatening infections that are difficult to treat. Left unchecked, AMR could rob us of the ability to treat infections and support life-saving surgeries and therapies. Even common infections such as urinary tract infections (UTIs) will carry a high risk of mortality. According to a 2016 report by British economist Lord Jim O’Neill, commissioned by the UK Government and The Wellcome Trust, deaths related to bacterial infections will increase exponentially from current levels of 700,000 per year to 10 million by 2050, similar to the current number of annual deaths due to cancer and diabetes.