(VOVWORLD) - Overuse of antibiotics and other antimicrobial drugs during the coronavirus pandemic is helping bacteria develop resistance that will render these important medicines ineffective over time, the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned this week.
 The antibiotic Amoxicillin. (Photo:Reuters ) |
Several countries in the Americas, including Argentina, Uruguay, Ecuador, Guatemala and Paraguay, are reporting surges in detection of drug-resistant infections that have likely contributed to the rise in mortality in hospitalized COVID-19 patients, the health agency said.
PAHO director Carissa Etienne said they have seen the use of antimicrobials rise to unprecedented levels, with potentially serious consequences, warning ofrisk of losing the drugs used to treat common infections.
Antimicrobials are being misused outside of hospital settings, and some drugs are being used as unproven treatments, even with strong evidence that they do not benefit COVID-19 patients, she said.
Data from hospitals in the region shows that 90% to 100% of hospitalized COVID-19 patients were given an antimicrobial as part of their treatment, while only 7% of them had a secondary infection that required use of those drugs, according to Etienne.