Health
Growing antibiotic crisis could turn bacterial infections deadly, experts warn
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As “superbugs” continue to surge, the World Health Organization is now warning that one in every six bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics.
WHO also called for antibiotic medications to be used more responsibly, according to a press release published by the agency on Monday.
Based on data from more than 100 countries between 2016 and 2023, the health agency determined that resistance to antibiotics rose in approximately 40% of infection samples.
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The report includes eight common bacterial pathogens: Acinetobacter spp., Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Neisseria gonorrhoeae, non-typhoidal Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Staphylococcus aureus and Streptococcus pneumoniae.
The most dangerous type of infection, according to the report, is caused by drug-resistant Gram-negative bacteria — particularly E. coli and K. pneumoniae, which can lead to sepsis, organ failure and death.
As “superbugs” continue to surge, the World Health Organization is warning that one in six bacterial infections are resistant to antibiotics. (iStock)
Antibiotics are part of a wider group of medicines called antimicrobials, which also include antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics.
When bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines, that leads to antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which increases the risk of severe illness, disability or death, according to WHO.
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“Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families worldwide,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement accompanying the report. “We must use antibiotics responsibly, and make sure everyone has access to the right medicines, quality-assured diagnostics and vaccines.”
“Antimicrobial resistance is outpacing advances in modern medicine, threatening the health of families worldwide.”
More than one million deaths each year are directly linked to antibiotic resistance, according to a study by the Global Research on Antimicrobial Resistance (GRAM) Project.
In some cases, AMR can occur naturally as germs mutate over time — but WHO cautions that it can also stem from people’s “misuse and overuse” of antibiotics and other antimicrobials.
WHO has called for antibiotic medications to be used more responsibly. (iStock)
Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, said that WHO’s latest report is “particularly worrisome.”
“These are aggressive bacteria that are more and more difficult to treat,” he told Fox News Digital. “Carbapenem resistance, in particular, is very tough to treat, as is multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis.”
Carbapenems are considered “last-line antibiotics” that are used to treat serious multidrug-resistant infections, per the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Siegel agrees that a primary contributor is overuse of antibiotics, both for common upper respiratory infections as well as more serious hospital-borne bacteria that live on hospital equipment.
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“Antibiotics are also not very profitable for drug companies to devise, because they are only used when a person has an infection (episodic rather than daily use) — and so we mostly rely on antibiotics that have been around for decades,” he added.
Artificial intelligence could present one potential solution, according to Siegel.
Based on data from more than 100 countries between 2016 and 2023, the health agency determined that resistance to antibiotics rose in approximately 40% of infection samples. (iStock)
“AI can invent new antibiotics more quickly and less expensively with machine learning, as well as better sanitation and more judicious use in fighting infections,” he said.
To combat the issue, WHO calls for greater surveillance of AMR and antimicrobial use through the agency’s Global Antimicrobial Resistance and Use Surveillance System (GLASS).
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“Countries must commit to strengthening laboratory systems and generating reliable surveillance data, especially from underserved areas, to inform treatments and policies,” the report stated. “WHO calls on all countries to report high-quality data on AMR and antimicrobial use to GLASS by 2030.”
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Eliminating sugar from your diet may seem like the key to healthy eating, but research suggests it could have unintended effects on digestive health.
A study presented at ENDO 2026, the Endocrine Society’s annual meeting, suggests that a total lack of sucrose, or table sugar, may harm gut health and disrupt the body’s natural metabolism.
To explore how the total absence of dietary sugar impacts the body, researchers at the Dasman Diabetes Institute in Kuwait City conducted a 16-week study on two groups of mice. Both groups were placed on a low-fat diet, but with one critical difference.
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One group consumed a low-fat diet that included a standard amount of sucrose, while the other group ate a low-fat diet that was completely sugar-free, according to the study’s press release.
Throughout the trial, the scientists monitored a wide variety of physiological factors, including the animals’ weight, glucose tolerance, insulin sensitivity, hormone levels, internal inflammation and the specific composition of their gut bacteria.
A total lack of dietary sugar can cause imbalances in the gut bacteria and lead to signs of fatty liver disease, even without any weight gain, researchers said. (iStock)
The study outcome suggested that completely removing sugar caused several unexpected health problems.
“Completely removing sucrose from a low-fat diet may unexpectedly disrupt gut health and promote inflammation and metabolic dysfunction,” Rasheed Ahmad, principal scientist and head of the Immunology & Microbiology Department at the Dasman Diabetes Institute, said in the release.
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Even though the mice on the sugar-free diet did not gain any extra weight compared to the control group, their internal health indicators deteriorated.
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The animals that lacked sucrose developed an imbalance in their gut microbes and increased inflammation within the intestines and liver.
They also showed signs of poor glucose regulation, insulin resistance and cellular changes associated with fatty liver disease, according to the research.
Future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar bans and instead focus on overall gut health through balanced nutrition. (iStock)
“The findings suggest that complete removal of sucrose from a low-fat diet may negatively affect gut microbiota and metabolic health,” Ahmad concluded.
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While the risks of high-sugar diets are well-established, the researchers noted that little attention has been given to the effects of completely eliminating sugar from low-fat meals.
Scientists say these new findings highlight that dietary carbohydrates play a valuable role in supporting balance between the immune system and the gut microbiome.
Completely cutting sucrose from a low-fat diet can unexpectedly trigger gut inflammation and disrupt the metabolism, experts say. (iStock)
Because this research was conducted on mice over a relatively short 16-week period, further clinical trials are necessary to determine whether a completely sugar-free diet causes the same gut and liver inflammation in humans.
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Additionally, the study focused specifically on removing sucrose from low-fat meals, meaning the results might not apply to people eliminating sugar while following higher-fat or ketogenic eating plans, the researchers noted.
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The team believes that future dietary guidelines may shift away from strict, absolute sugar restrictions and instead place a greater emphasis on maintaining a diverse, healthy population of gut bacteria through balanced nutrition.
“In the long term, these findings could help improve strategies for preventing and managing metabolic disorders, fatty liver disease and chronic inflammatory conditions,” Ahmad said.
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A cure for cancer could be on the horizon in the next decade, according to experts.
During the WSJ Leadership Institute CEO Summit in London last week, Johnson & Johnson Chairman and CEO Joaquin Duato reflected on the pharmaceutical company’s projections on the future of cancer treatment.
In the next 10 years, the goal is to “try to eliminate cancer,” Duato shared.
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“That’s a high goal, and we are already making significant progress in certain cancers,” he said.
Duato used multiple myeloma as an example, noting that the life expectancy is currently 10 years, when it was previously “only single years.”
Joaquin Duato, chairman and CEO of Johnson and Johnson, speaks at the Punchbowl News Conference at Union Station on March 10, 2026, in Washington, DC. (Heather Diehl/Getty Images)
“We have treatments now that utilize your own immune system to attack the cancer,” he said at the summit. “For patients who were already going into hospice, so they didn’t have any other alternative, they are [at] more than five years, with a single administration, in remission. That [is] spectacular.”
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“When patients see that, they cannot believe that because they have been coming to the hospital every week [for] a decade, having multiple therapies.”
The goal is to “try to eliminate cancer” in the next 10 years, the pharmaceutical executive said. (iStock)
According to Duato, Johnson & Johnson is working to understand the biology of cancer growth and to formulate new technologies to address it.
“It’s realistic to believe that we are going to cure certain cancers, and some others we’re going to turn into chronic diseases,” he predicted.
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“Cancer is an important thing – I cannot think about anybody who has not been touched by cancer,” he went on. “But there are many other opportunities for us to actually advance science, to address very important social problems.”
Duato called out dementia as another “important problem” in need of a solution.
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He predicted that life expectancy, which has risen steadily over the past century, will continue to increase as longevity technologies and solutions advance, improving quality of life along the way.
Duato commented that J&J has been optimistic about the role artificial intelligence will play in the future of healthcare, calling it a “force multiplier.”
Biomarkers and AI can help with the earlier diagnosis of cancer, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery, a doctor noted. (iStock)
Fox News senior medical analyst Dr. Marc Siegel agreed with Duato’s outlook on the future of cancer care, noting that certain cancers will turn into chronic diseases while others will find outright cures.
“Advances [will be] based on the use of AI to help guide targeted treatments with expanding knowledge of cancer mutations and how to target them,” he predicted, speaking to Fox News Digital.
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Siegel added that biomarkers and AI can help with earlier diagnoses, as well as a more advanced and personalized approach to surgery.
J&J recently acquired Firefly Bio, a biotech firm that produces drugs that enter cancer cells to “target certain proteins that contain difficult to treat gene mutations,” the doctor added.
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