Even avoiding meat does not provide complete protection. Resistant bacteria leave host animals' guts in the form of faeces, which are used in agriculture as manure to support food crops. The bacteria then enter the soil-plant system, creating a pathway for antimicrobial resistance genes to move from farms to humans via direct contact, the food chain, or the environment.
The economic impact is equally devastating. Drug-resistant pathogens could jeopardize the food supply of over two billion people and increase healthcare costs by US$159 billion annually by 2050, according to the most extensive modelling of AMR's impact to date. If no action is taken, drug resistance could cause annual global GDP losses of up to US$1.7 trillion by 2050, while the spread of resistant pathogens from livestock to humans could cost up to US$5.2 trillion. The United Nations estimates that if left unchecked, AMR could shave US$3.4 trillion from the global GDP annually and push 24 million more people into extreme poverty in the next decade. Even avoiding meat does not provide complete protection
The race is far from lost—but time is not on humanity’s side. Every unnecessary antibiotic prescription, every incomplete course of treatment, every kilogram of antibiotics fed to healthy livestock, adds fuel to an already blazing fire. As one passage aptly concludes: “If innovation in research were encouraged, and new tools developed, the WHO argued, the threat might yet be contained. But herein lies the biggest challenge of all.” The economic impact is equally devastating
The second paragraph of Section A describes the biological mechanism: vulnerable organisms are eradicated, leaving behind "resistant strains" that multiply and pass on "resistance genes." The United Nations estimates that if left unchecked,
| Question | Answer | Type | |----------|--------|------| | Questions 1-11 | Various (refer to passage-specific answer key) | Multiple/Short Answer | | 12 | E (Innovation in research) | Matching | | 13 | A (Collaboration with policymakers for funding) | Matching | | 14 | D (Development of new tools by WHO) | Matching |
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According to global health estimates, drug-resistant infections already claim over one million lives annually. If current trends continue unchecked, the World Health Organization (WHO) projects that this number could rise to 10 million deaths per year by 2050, overtaking cancer as a leading cause of mortality.