The English papers, to their credit, were arguably quoting the numbers from a recent conference in Karachi on the issue of antimicrobial resistance. They were quoting public health professionals but provided no basis for the numbers. The issue of antimicrobial resistance is both serious and urgent. There is much to be said about the lack of seriousness in the public health policy sector — and much has been written. However, we fail to recognise and acknowledge that the poor performance of the policy sector is multiplied by the incompetence and ignorance of those who report important public health issues.
