Bacterial infections are the second cause of death in the world, says study

Infections of bacterial origin are the second cause of death in the world after cardiovascular problems, according to a vast study published this Tuesday (22), which points to the Staphylococcus aureus and pneumococcus as the most lethal bacteria.

The study published in the journal Lancet selected 30 bacteria commonly involved in infections and assessed how many deaths are associated with them.

These works are part of the Global Burden of Disease, a research program funded by the Bill Gates Foundation and with an unparalleled scope for having thousands of scientists in most countries.

“Deaths associated with these bacteria are the second leading cause of death worldwide” after coronary heart disease, which includes heart attacks, the authors conclude.

The infections caused 7.7 million deaths, which means that 1 in 8 deaths could be linked to them, according to the 2019 data on which the study is based.

Of the 30 bacteria studied, five concentrate more than half of the cases: Staphylococcus aureus🇧🇷 E colipneumococcus, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa🇧🇷

Staphylococcus aureusthe most common species of staphylococci, is “the leading bacterial cause of death in 135 countries”, says the study.

Among children under five, however, pneumococcal infections are the deadliest.

The researchers emphasize that bacterial infections are an “urgent priority” in public health and call for work on preventing infections, better use of antibiotics and more effective use of vaccination.