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Review
. 2021 Jun 10;7(8):FSO736.
doi: 10.2144/fsoa-2021-0012. eCollection 2021 Sep.

The COVID-19 pandemic: a threat to antimicrobial resistance containment

Raspail C Founou  1   2   3 , Ariel J Blocker  3   4 , Michel Noubom  1   5 , Cedrice Tsayem  6 , Siméon P Choukem  2   7 , Maarten Van Dongen  3   8 , Luria L Founou  3   9
Affiliations
Review

The COVID-19 pandemic: a threat to antimicrobial resistance containment

Raspail C Founou et al. Future Sci OA. .

Abstract

As of 23 April 2021, the outbreak of COVID-19 claimed around 150 million confirmed cases with over 3 million deaths worldwide. Yet, an even more serious but silent pandemic, that of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), is likely complicating the outcome of COVID-19 patients. This study discusses the current knowledge on the emergence of the SARS-CoV-2 and highlights the likely contribution of the COVID-19 pandemic on the escalation of AMR. COVID-19 engenders extensive antibiotic overuse and misuse, and will undoubtedly and substantially increase AMR rates worldwide. Amid the expanding COVID-19 pandemic, policymakers should consider the hidden threat of AMR much more, which may well be enhanced through improper use of antibiotics to treat patients with severe COVID-19 infection.

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; COVID-19 vaccines; SARS-CoV-2; antimicrobial resistance; antimicrobial stewardship.

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Conflict of interest statement

Financial & competing interests disclosure AJ Blocker reports being a salaried employee of Evotec ID LYON, of which the main business is focused outside of the submitted work, and a member of the board of the AMR Insights Ambassador Network, which is a branch of AMR Insights, of which the company details are: AMR Insights, Keizersgracht 482, 1017 EG Amsterdam, The Netherlands; registered at The Netherlands Chamber of Commerce and Trade under number 5796317, VAT ID number: NL001114537B10. The authors have no other relevant affiliations or financial involvement with any organization or entity with a financial interest in or financial conflict with the subject matter or materials discussed in the manuscript apart from those disclosed. No writing assistance was utilized in the production of this manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.. Summary of COVID-19 impacts on antimicrobial resistance emergence and spread.
abx: antibiotics; AMR: Antimicrobial resistance; ARB: Antibiotic-resistant bacteria; ARG: Antibiotic resistance gene; ASP: Antimicrobial stewardship program; IPC: Infection, prevention and control; NCD: Noncommunicable disease.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.. Summary of COVID-19 challenges and opportunities for antimicrobial resistance containment.
AMR: Antimicrobial resistance; AMS: Antimicrobial surveillance; IPC: Infection, prevention and control; UN: United Nations.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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