The challenges of Inflammatory and Infectious Diseases

Inflammatory diseases – whether digestive, respiratory, rheumatic, neurological, dermatological or systemic – are particularly common in the Hauts-de-France region.

• There are nearly 400,000 patients in the region, a figure that is constantly rising.
• These diseases mainly affect young people and have a major impact on daily life, work and healthcare costs. Furthermore, up to 40% of patients exhibit primary or secondary resistance to treatment and/or develop severe complications (infections, fibrosis, vascular, neurological, digestive or skin damage), exacerbating morbidity and mortality.

Infectious diseases are a major cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide.

• The increase in the international movement of people and goods is contributing to the rise in epidemics and the spread of endemic or so-called ‘exotic’ infections. Some of these infections can now become established locally, partly as a result of climate change. The COVID-19 pandemic directly illustrates these dynamics.
• Another major challenge concerns the emergence of antimicrobial resistance in pathogenic or nosocomial microorganisms. Projections estimate that by 2050, more than 10 million deaths could be linked to resistant infections, resulting in a considerable economic impact. This resistance stems largely from the excessive or inappropriate use of anti-infective drugs. The situation is particularly worrying in Hauts-de-France, where antibiotic consumption is 10% higher than the national average, which is itself 30% higher than the European average.

According to the WHO, antimicrobial resistance is one of the most pressing health risks of our time and threatens to undermine a century of medical progress.