Bug Ledger
The superbugs are winning. Here's the scoreboard.
Consumer-facing antimicrobial resistance intelligence — translating WHO, CDC, and ECDC surveillance data into beautiful, actionable threat reports, pathogen scorecards, city-level risk maps, and weekly "resistance dispatches" that tell people which drugs are failing, where, and what it means for their family.
Niche Explored
Consumer-facing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) / superbug intelligence — translating dense WHO/CDC/ECDC surveillance data into beautiful, actionable content for everyday people. Think “weather forecast but for drug-resistant bacteria.”
The Opportunity
- 39 million deaths projected directly attributable to AMR between 2025–2050 (Lancet, Sept 2024)
- WHO calls AMR “one of the top 10 global public health threats”
- Consumer awareness is shockingly low: UK FSA study found most consumers couldn’t explain AMR
- Existing content is either: (a) dense academic papers, (b) policy-focused newsletters for insiders, (c) sporadic news coverage when outbreaks happen
- NO consumer-facing, beautifully designed, regularly updated site that makes AMR data accessible and actionable
Existing Competition
- Maryn McKenna’s Superbug blog (superbugtheblog.com → moved to Wired) — legendary but inactive as standalone. She wrote books. No data dashboard.
- Working to Fight AMR (workingtofightamr.org) — newsletter, policy/insider focus, issue #24 as of Nov 2024. Not consumer-facing.
- Antibiotic Resistance Action Center (GWU) (battlesuperbugs.com) — academic/advocacy. Dry. No regular auto-content.
- ResistanceMap (CDDEP) — data visualization tool, not editorial content. Raw data.
- CDC AMR pages — government content, dense, not engaging
- WHO AMR Dashboard (data.who.int/dashboards/amr) — data portal, no storytelling
- CIDRAP — excellent but academic/professional audience
- Gap: Nobody is doing data-driven AMR journalism for regular people with beautiful design, city-level relevance, and actionable advice
Data Sources Found
- WHO GLASS Dashboard — https://data.who.int/dashboards/amr/overview — Global surveillance data by country, pathogen, antibiotic. Free download. Updated regularly.
- CDC NARMS Now — https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NARMSNow/ — US antimicrobial resistance in enteric bacteria. Interactive data, downloadable. Free.
- CDC AR Threats Report — Published data on resistance levels, deaths, infections by pathogen in US
- ResistanceMap (One Health Trust/CDDEP) — https://resistancemap.cddep.org/ — Global antibiotic resistance & use data visualization. Free.
- BV-BRC/PATRIC API — https://patricbrc.org/api/doc/ — Bacterial genome database with AMR metadata. Free, MIT license. REST API for programmatic access.
- ECDC Surveillance Atlas — EU/EEA AMR surveillance data. Published annual reports free. TESSy aggregate data available.
- PubMed API (E-utilities) — Free. Search for new AMR research papers daily. Parse titles, abstracts, key findings.
- ClinicalTrials.gov API — Track new antibiotic/antifungal trials. Free.
- FDA Drug Approvals API — New antibiotic approvals and pipeline. Free.
- ProMED-mail — Outbreak alerts including AMR events. Free RSS.
- bioRxiv/medRxiv API — Pre-print AMR research. Free.
SEO Analysis
- “antibiotic resistance” — high volume, competitive but thin on consumer content
- “superbug” — trending, especially during outbreaks (Candida auris surges drive spikes)
- “MRSA prevention” — consistent search volume, actionable content gap
- “antibiotic resistance travel” — low competition, high intent
- Long-tail opportunities: “[city] superbug risk”, “antibiotic resistance [country]”, “is [antibiotic] still effective”, “superbug hospital [state]”
- Content gap: Nobody owns the informational SEO space for plain-English AMR content
- Google rewards E-E-A-T heavily in health — citing primary sources (WHO, CDC) gives massive trust signal
Communities
- r/microbiology (300K+), r/infectious_diseases, r/medicine — AMR discussions frequent
- Effective Altruism community — AMR identified as major cause area (EA Forum posts)
- Travel health forums — antibiotic resistance by destination is a growing concern
- Parent communities — worried about antibiotic overuse in children
- Prepper/survivalist communities — “what happens when antibiotics stop working”
- Healthcare worker communities — frustrated by lack of public understanding
Image/Graphic Feasibility
- Excellent: This niche is perfect for data visualization
- Resistance heatmaps by country/region (choropleth maps)
- Pathogen “threat cards” with risk meters
- Trend line charts showing resistance % over time
- Hospital/community infection comparison graphics
- Drug pipeline infographics
- “Resistance clock” countdown graphics
- AI-generated microscopy-style pathogen illustrations
- All can be programmatically generated with D3.js/Chart.js/Canvas API
Sources
- https://data.who.int/dashboards/amr/overview
- https://wellcome.org/news/new-forecasts-reveal-39-million-deaths-will-be-directly-attributable-bacterial-antimicrobial
- https://www.cidrap.umn.edu/antimicrobial-stewardship/study-forecasts-more-39-million-deaths-antimicrobial-resistance-2050
- https://www.food.gov.uk/research/antimicrobial-resistance/amr-consumer-research-report
- https://resistancemap.cddep.org/
- https://wwwn.cdc.gov/NARMSNow/
- https://patricbrc.org/api/doc/
- https://www.cdc.gov/narms/data/index.html
- https://www.cdc.gov/antimicrobial-resistance/partner-communication-resources/index.html