Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Antimicrobial Resistance: Parallel and Interacting Health Emergencies

Robby Nieuwlaat; Lawrence Mbuagbaw; Dominik Mertz; Lori L Burrows; Dawn M E Bowdish; Lorenzo Moja; Gerard D Wright; Holger J Schünemann

doi:10.1093/cid/ciaa773

Coronavirus Disease 2019 and Antimicrobial Resistance: Parallel and Interacting Health Emergencies

Clin Infect Dis. 2021 May 4;72(9):1657-1659. doi: 10.1093/cid/ciaa773.

Authors

Robby Nieuwlaat¹, Lawrence Mbuagbaw^{1

2}, Dominik Mertz^{1

3}, Lori L Burrows^{4

5}, Dawn M E Bowdish⁶, Lorenzo Moja⁷, Gerard D Wright⁵, Holger J Schünemann^{1

8}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
² Biostatistics Unit, Father Sean O'Sullivan Research Centre, St Joseph's Healthcare, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
³ Department of Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁴ Michael G. DeGroote Institute for Infectious Disease Research, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁵ Department of Biochemistry and Biomedical Sciences, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁶ Department of Pathology and Molecular Medicine, McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.
⁷ Department of Health Product Policy and Standards, World Health Organization, Geneva, Switzerland.
⁸ Michael G. DeGroote Cochrane Canada Centre, Hamilton, Ontario, Canada.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) are parallel and interacting health emergencies that provide the opportunity for mutual learning. As their measures and consequences are comparable, the COVID-19 pandemic helps to illustrate the potential long-term impact of AMR, which is less acute but not less crucial. They may also impact each other as there is a push to use existing antimicrobials to treat critically ill COVID-19 patients in the absence of specific treatments. Attempts to manage the spread of COVID-19 may also lead to a slowdown in AMR. Understanding how COVID-19 affects AMR trends and what we can expect if these trends remain the same or worsen will help us to plan the next steps for tackling AMR. Researchers should start collecting data to measure the impact of current COVID-19 policies and programs on AMR.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antibiotic resistance; antimicrobial resistance.

MeSH terms

Anti-Bacterial Agents / pharmacology
Anti-Bacterial Agents / therapeutic use
Anti-Infective Agents*
COVID-19*
Drug Resistance, Bacterial
Emergencies
Humans
Pandemics
SARS-CoV-2

Substances

Anti-Bacterial Agents
Anti-Infective Agents