Cases rose 3.2% in 2025 from 2024, compared with a 9.3% increase the previous year. The UK Health Security Agency says infection prevention and responsible antibiotic use remain important as cases continue to rise.
Sole source: England recorded 21,129 antibiotic-resistant cases of bacteraemia in 2025, an average of 406 a week, the UK Health Security Agency said. The total rose from 20,468 in 2024; the previous annual increase was from 18,732 in 2023. The English surveillance programme for antimicrobial utilisation and resistance (ESPAUR) report tracks antibiotic resistance and use in England.
Bacteraemia occurs when bacteria are present in the bloodstream and can be life-threatening. Antibiotic resistance means bacteria can withstand medicines used against them, making infections harder to treat.
The total was 16.8% above the 2019 baseline of 18,086. The agency’s surveillance programme also estimated 2,318 deaths in 2025 among people with resistant Gram-negative bacteraemia, broadly level with 2,399 in 2024. The estimate counts deaths among those patients; it does not establish that resistance caused the deaths.
According to the agency, NHS antibiotic consumption fell 10.7% between 2019 and 2025, from 17.8 to 15.9 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day. The measure uses a standard daily dose to compare antibiotic consumption across a population.
Private antibiotic prescriptions dispensed in community pharmacies are counted separately from the NHS total. Their measured use fell 20.8% between 2024 and 2025, from 0.61 to 0.48 defined daily doses per 1,000 inhabitants per day.
Dr Shona Arora, the agency’s interim chief medical adviser, said the figures showed signs that efforts to encourage responsible antibiotic use were having an impact. She said reducing use alone was not enough and called for work with partners to prevent infections and explore new treatments.
The UK Health Security Agency says 157,169 have received a second dose. The free first-dose offer ends on 31 December 2026.
The agency said older people experience the greatest burden. It said infection risk rises with age as people are more likely to have multiple or complex health conditions and greater exposure to healthcare and medical interventions. People in the most deprived areas had a 44.2% higher rate of resistant bacteraemia than those in the least deprived areas, at 44.4 compared with 30.8 cases per 100,000 population.
Arora urged people to take antibiotics only when advised by a healthcare professional, avoid saving or sharing them, return leftovers to a pharmacy and take up vaccinations for which they are eligible. Public health minister Dame Diana Johnson also urged patients to complete their prescribed course. The agency says it is working with partners to understand differences in infection rates and develop responses.
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