A new landmark report warns superbugs are likely to kill nearly 400,000 Canadians. The report also says superbugs will cost the economy about $400 billion in gross domestic product over the next 30 years. An expert panel cautions that the percentage of bacterial infections that are resistant to treatment is likely to grow from 26 per cent in 2018 to 40 per cent by 2050. This increase is expected to cost Canada 396,000 lives, $120 billion in hospital expenses and $388 billion in gross domestic product over the next three decades. Antimicrobial resistance occurs when micro-organisms, including bacteria, viruses and fungi, evolve to resist the drugs that would otherwise kill them. The Public Health Agency of Canada commissioned the report on the socio-economic impacts of antimicrobial resistance.