Denis Balibouse/Reuters
Date of Publication: June 1, 2020
Source: The Guardian
As if having one microbial pandemic wasn’t enough, the world may be on the precipice another, far worse pandemic. The increased use of antibiotics to treat critically-ill COVID-19 patients, is adding to the global health issue of antibiotic resistance, a threat well-known among scientists and healthcare providers. During a press-conference on Monday, the WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated that an alarming number of bacterial infections are becoming increasingly resistant to the currently available antibiotics. The WHO states that only COVID-19 with concurrent bacterial infections truly need antibiotics to treat them, however the novelty of the coronavirus and lack of specific treatment options has led to increased use of antibiotics. They have released guidelines for healthcare providers to refrain from providing antibiotic therapy or prophylaxis to patients without evidence of a bacterial infection. The development of super-bacteria, resistant to our currently limited pool of antibiotics, poses a risk for a second pandemic, that may be even more challenging to control.
Read the full article here: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2020/jun/01/who-warns-overuse-of-antibiotics-for-covid-19-will-cause-more-deaths
Summary by: Hira Raheel
