Superbugs could kill 39 million people by 2050. Here’s what Canadian survivors, doctors say should change [Video]

This story is part of CBC Health’s Second Opinion, a weekly analysis of health and medical science news emailed to subscribers on Saturday mornings. If you haven’t subscribed yet, you can do that by clicking here.

Melissa Murray regularly ran 10 kilometres a day — until a serious bacterial infection caused her to nearly lose a leg. 

Last summer, the Toronto woman who’d worked 60-hour weeks as an account manager suddenly needed round-the-clock care to recover from sepsis. The life-threatening condition results from the immune system’s overreaction to fighting an infection.

Septic shock deprived Murray’s heart and kidneys of vital blood and oxygen, and her blood pressure plunged dangerously low. To save her life, surgeons urgently had to cut out half a calf muscle and tendons plus the inner side of the other leg.

“I kept saying it feels like there’s like a campfire in my leg,” Murray, 46, recalled of the …