The World Health Organization is calling for drug-resistant infections to be tackled globally, and says 10 million people could die each year by 2050, with the cumulative economic loss reaching 100 trillion dollars if the trend continues.

The WHO cited Lord Jim O'Neill's statistical and monetary predictions from the UK's Review on Antimicrobial Resistance held in May last year.

Antibiotic abuse is growing more severe in China. It is estimated that antimicrobial resistance could drive one million people to early deaths annually by 2050, the latest report from the WHO said. The economic cost could soar to 20 trillion dollars.

According to the WHO, the major reasons for antimicrobial resistance in China include prevalent use of non-prescription drugs, excessive use of antibiotics in medical treatment and infection control, and the use of drugs in the promotion of livestock growth.

Due to incentives for prescribing excess drugs in China, it is not easy to cultivate the idea of proper antibiotic use. The lack of antibiotic supervision in agriculture is also exacerbating the problem.

The WHO said in the future there will more deaths caused by antimicrobial resistance than cancer.

To tackle the health threats caused by antimicrobial resistance, the WHO suggests that patients need to consider if it is really necessary to use antibiotics. Meanwhile, the drug industry also needs encouragement to develop new antibiotics so that newly-developed drugs are able to replace the old drugs when they become ineffective.