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Tillotson GS. Lancet Infecti Dis 2017;17: 473–474

Funds were made available to fight antibiotic resistance by among others, the European Union, the UN General Assembly and committees convened by the then US President. Some of these actions were founded by reports from the esteemed UK economist 'Jim' O'Neill's review on antimicrobial. resistance: 'Antimicrobial resistance: Tackling a crisis for the health and wealth of nations, 2014.' This report estimated that antimicrobial resistance could cause 10 million deaths a year by 2050 costing 'the world up to 100 trillion USD.' In addition, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, published a list of 18 resistant bacteria including Clostridium difficile, carbapenem resistant Enterobacteriaceae, and drug-resistant Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The veracity of these reports has been questioned by de Kraker (PLoS Med 2016;13: e1002184) and by the Reuters news agency. de Kraker argues 'estimates...should be accompanied by clear acknowledgment of the associated uncertainties regarding the incidence of infections, the prevalence of resistance, and the attributable mortality'. In addition, she states '...modeling future scenarios using unreliable contemporary estimates is of questionable utility'.