Breaking News English

Horror movies often show superbugs spreading around the world and killing people. The World Health Organisation (WHO) has said this might soon be a reality. The medicines that we use to keep away diseases no longer work. Bugs have developed and become stronger. The WHO said this is a major threat to our health and that nobody is safe. The superbugs can kill people in rich countries and in poorer nations. The WHO looked at data from 114 countries. It found that some antibiotics that worked 30 years ago do not work now. They did not work in about half the people who took them.

A WHO health spokesman, Keiji Fukuda, described a scary future. He said the world is moving towards a "post-antibiotic era". He warned that: "Common infections and minor injuries which have been treatable for decades can once again kill." This means malaria, tuberculosis, and influenza will become killer diseases again. Dr Fukuda warned this was happening globally. He said it was not a regional problem and that it was happening in poor, developing and rich countries. He said: "This is something which is occurring in all countries in the world."