COVID-19 WORSENED OVERUSE OF ANTIBIOTICS, WHO RAISES CONCERN OVER DANGERS OF ANTIMICROBIAL RESISTANCE
A new report released by the World Health Organisation shows that the large-scale overuse of antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic worldwide may have worsened the “silent” spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The report added that the general use of antibiotics did not lead to better health outcomes for COVID-19 patients. Instead, the general use could potentially cause harm to individuals who do not have bacterial infections, especially when compared to those who do not take antibiotics.
World Health Organization categorizes antibiotics based on the risk of antimicrobial resistance using the AWaRe (Access, Watch, Reserve) classification. Alarmingly, the study revealed that antibiotics categorized as ‘Watch’, which have a higher potential for resistance, were the most commonly prescribed worldwide.
The use of antibiotics was highly seen among patients with severe or critical COVID-19, with a global average of 81%. There was a substantial variation across regions in mild or moderate cases, with the highest use in the African Region which was 79%.
Antibiotic usage varied widely across different regions, ranging from 33% of patients in the Western Pacific Region to as high as 83% in the Eastern Mediterranean and African Regions. Between 2020 and 2022, there was a decrease in antibiotic prescriptions in Europe and the Americas, while Africa saw an increase.
Highlighting the urgent need for better antibiotic use to reduce unnecessary risks for patients and communities, the World Health Organization (WHO) pointed out that although only 8% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients had bacterial co-infections requiring antibiotics, a significant 75% were still administered antibiotics as a precautionary measure.
These findings stem from data gathered by the WHO Global Clinical Platform for COVID-19, which contains standardized and anonymized clinical data from approximately 450,000 COVID-19 patients hospitalized across 65 countries over a three-year span from January 2020 to March 2023. The results are being presented in a scientific poster by WHO at the ESCMID Global Congress in Barcelona, Spain, occurring from April 27 to April 30.
Dr Yukiko Nakatani, WHO Assistant Director-General for AMR said, “These findings underscore the important need to adequately resource the efforts to improve antibiotic prescribing globally, and are particularly relevant to discuss ahead of the upcoming UN General Assembly High-Level Meeting on AMR to take place this September”.
The UN High-Level meeting on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) will gather global leaders to pledge efforts towards addressing AMR in human health, animal health, agri-food sectors, and the environment. The aim is to foster political leadership, secure financing, and implement actions aimed at curbing the emergence and spread of AMR.
2024-04-27T12:17:11Z dg43tfdfdgfd