Study finds alarming global rise in use of antibiotics

Antibiotic use has surged by 36 percent worldwide in a decade, much of it unwarranted, according to a new study.

The rise, particularly in countries with a burgeoning middle class, heightens concerns that overuse of antibiotics is leaving more of the world’s population vulnerable to drug-resistant bacteria, according to the authors of the analysis, published online Thursday in the journal Lancet Infectious Diseases.