This week we had some terrifying news from the World Health Organization: Antibiotics are failing us. A growing number of bacterial infections aren’t responding to these medicines—including common ones that affect the blood, gut, and urinary tract. Get infected with one of these bugs, and there’s a fair chance antibiotics won’t help.
The scary truth is that a growing number of harmful bacteria and fungi are becoming resistant to drugs. Just a few weeks ago, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published a report finding a sharp rise in infections caused by a dangerous type of bacteria that are resistant to some of the strongest antibiotics. Now, the WHO report shows that the problem is surging around the world.
In this week’s Checkup, we’re trying something a bit different—a little quiz. You’ve probably heard about antimicrobial resistance (AMR) before, but how much do you know about microbes, antibiotics, and the scale of the problem? Here’s our attempt to put the “fun” in “fundamental threat to modern medicine.” Test your knowledge below!
This article first appeared in The Checkup, MIT Technology Review’s weekly biotech newsletter. To receive it in your inbox every Thursday, and read articles like this first, sign up here.