Antimicrobial Resistance as a Hidden Menace Lurking Behind the COVID-19 Outbreak: The Global Impacts of Too Much Hygiene on AMR

The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus that was recently discovered in 2019. While the world is working hard to overcome and control the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is also crucial to be prepared for the great impacts of this outbreak on the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). It is predicted that inappropriate and too much use of antibiotics, biocides, and disinfectants during this pandemic may raise disastrous effects on antibiotic stewardship programs and AMR control all around the world. Furthermore, the use of certain antibiotics alone or in combination with antiviral agents or other medications for the treatment of secondary bacterial infections among COVID-19 patients may be regarded as a major factor that negatively affects host immune response by disrupting mitochondrial function and activity. Herein, we suggest that the current management strategies to control AMR and prioritize antibiotic stewardship schemes should be extremely highlighted in relation to the COVID-19 outbreak. The rising concerns about excessive use of antimicrobials and biocides and taking too much hygiene also need to be addressed during this pandemic due to their impacts on AMR, public health, and the environment.

Download Full-text

Development of antimicrobial resistance due to the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2)

Research Society and Development ◽

10.33448/rsd-v10i16.24207 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 10 (16) ◽

pp. e479101624207

Author(s):

Débora Brito Goulart

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome ◽

Antibiotic Stewardship ◽

Bacterial Infections ◽

Public Health Emergency ◽

Public Health Issue ◽

The Face ◽

Global Influence ◽

Insight Into

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is a new coronavirus identified in 2019. This disease, which may cause a serious respiratory infection, has been designated an international public health emergency and is being treated with several types of antivirals, antibiotics, and antifungals. While society works hard to combat the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, it is equally vital to be prepared for the outbreak’s notorious effects on the development of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antibiotic misuse and overuse are predicted to have serious ramifications for antibiotic stewardship programs and AMR management worldwide. Importantly, the global influence on the creation of novel antimicrobial resistance is uncertain due to a paucity of data on antimicrobial usage during the COVID-19 pandemic. The current pandemic might be a useful tool for depicting the spread of antimicrobial resistance and underlining the difficulties in managing the issue once it has emerged. This review aims to assess available data on bacterial infections in coronavirus-infected patients and to offer insight into the development of AMR in the face of the current public health issue.

Download Full-text

Antimicrobial resistance a threat to public health

Microbiology Australia ◽

10.1071/ma17059 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 38 (4) ◽

pp. 165 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

John Merlino

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Zika Virus ◽

Emerging Diseases ◽

Complex Issue ◽

Bird Flu ◽

The World ◽

News Headlines ◽

Health Experts

Antimicrobial resistance is a complex issue and is a threat to public health globally. While emerging and re-emerging diseases have captured news headlines with outbreaks such SARS, bird flu, Ebola and Zika virus around the world, leading health experts tells us that there is a more serious threat to public health – antimicrobial resistance (AMR)1.

Download Full-text

The international vaccine scene

Australian Health Review ◽

10.1071/ah040206 ◽

2004 ◽

Vol 28 (2) ◽

pp. 206 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Priscilla Robinson

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Disease Control ◽

Bacterial Infections ◽

Communicable Disease ◽

Control Measures ◽

Common Disease ◽

Communicable Disease Control ◽

Enteric Diseases ◽

The World ◽

Syncytial Virus

INFECTIOUS AND COMMUNICABLE DISEASES account for a large burden of disease worldwide, causing the death of roughly a million people each month (WHO 2004). This book is about some of the ways in which this enormous problem is being addressed. The book comprises a collection of papers from the global Conference on vaccines, prevention, and public health and is as much about public health thinking in communicable disease control as it is specifically about vaccines. Its contributors are practitioners in the field of immunisation and communicable disease control from all over the world. The book is clearly set out in eight sections, with both an introductory summary, Setting the stage, and an Epilogue summary section. The specific sections cover The present, with summaries of measles, rubella and poliovirus control measures, as well as the case of yellow fever which is used as a warning about what can happen if we take our eyes off the public-health-control ball. This is followed by The cutting edge, covering the newest vaccines for Haemophilus influenzae, varicella (chicken pox), hepatitis A, and the two major bacterial infections ? meningococcal and pneumococcal diseases. The future section covers prospects for vaccines to control a variety of infections, including the enteric diseases rotavirus, Shigella and typhoid; two major causes of cancer, Helicobacter pylori (gastric cancers and ulcers) and human papillomavirus (cervical cancer); hepatitis C; and two common causes of viral respiratory disease, influenza and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV). RSV is a good example of a common disease which carries a large burden of morbidity (Chin 2002) all over the world, especially among children, and yet few people have heard of it.

Download Full-text

Risk Assessment and Prediction of COVID-19 Based on Epidemiological Data From Spatiotemporal Geography

Frontiers in Environmental Science ◽

10.3389/fenvs.2021.634156 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 ◽

Author(s):

Xiong He ◽

Chunshan Zhou ◽

Yuqu Wang ◽

Xiaodie Yuan

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

High Risk ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Health Hazard ◽

Regional Distribution ◽

Floating Population ◽

Effective Control ◽

The World ◽

Risk Areas ◽

And Control

COVID-19 is a highly infectious disease and public health hazard that has been wreaking havoc around the world; thus, assessing and simulating the risk of the current pandemic is crucial to its management and prevention. The severe situation of COVID-19 around the world cannot be ignored, and there are signs of a second outbreak; therefore, the accurate assessment and prediction of COVID-19 risks, as well as the prevention and control of COVID-19, will remain the top priority of major public health agencies for the foreseeable future. In this study, the risk of the epidemic in Guangzhou was first assessed through logistic regression (LR) on the basis of Tencent-migration data and urban point of interest (POI) data, and then the regional distribution of high- and low-risk epidemic outbreaks in Guangzhou in February 2021 was predicted. The main factors affecting the distribution of the epidemic were also analyzed by using geographical detectors. The results show that the number of cases mainly exhibited a declining and then increasing trend in 2020, and the high-risk areas were concentrated in areas with resident populations and floating populations. In addition, in February 2021, the “Spring Festival travel rush” in China was predicted to be the peak period of population movement. The epidemic risk value was also predicted to reach its highest level at external transportation stations, such as Baiyun Airport and Guangzhou South Railway Station. The accuracy verification showed that the prediction accuracy exceeded 99%. Finally, the interaction between the resident population and floating population could explain the risk of COVID-19 to the highest degree, which indicates that the effective control of population agglomeration and interaction is conducive to the prevention and control of COVID-19. This study identifies and predicts high-risk areas of the epidemic, which has important practical value for urban public health prevention and control and containment of the second outbreak of COVID-19.

Download Full-text

Global Impacts and Nigeria Responsiveness to the COVID-19 Pandemic

International Journal of Healthcare and Medical Sciences ◽

10.32861/ijhms.64.27.45 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 27-45

Author(s):

Isaiah Nnanna Ibeh ◽

Seyi Samson Enitan ◽

Richard Yomi Akele ◽

Christy Chinwe Isitua ◽

Felix Omorodion

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Global Economy ◽

Health Workers ◽

Public Health Emergency ◽

African Countries ◽

The World ◽

Global Impacts ◽

The Government ◽

Sporting Activities ◽

Medical Wastes

The Coronavirus Disease – 2019 (COVID-19) is officially now a pandemic and not just a public health emergency of international concern as previously labelled. Worldwide, the new coronavirus has infected more than 4.9 million people and leaving more than 300,000 people dead in 188 countries. As countries of the world get locked down in an effort to contain the widespread of the virus, experts are concern about the global impacts of the pandemic on individuals, countries and the world at large. Millions of people are currently under quarantine across the globe. Many countries have responded by proclaiming a public health emergency, closed their borders and restrict incoming flights from high risk countries. This has grossly affected the travel plan of many. Several international programs, conferences, workshops and sporting activities are either postponed or cancelled. As the number of confirmed cases continues to escalate across the globe, hospitals seems to be running out of medical supplies, hospital spaces and personnel. Health workers are being overwhelmed by the numbers of people requesting for testing and treatment. Many of such health workers have been infected with the coronavirus and even lost their lives since the fight against COVID-19 started. Public health experts are also concerned about the huge medical wastes coming from the hospitals at this time and the adverse effects associated with improper management of such medical wastes, both at the hospital and community levels. The pandemic has also impacted negatively on the global economy. There have been serious crises in the stock market, with gross fall in the price of crude oil resulting in inflation and economic hardship among the populace. Many are currently out of job and as a result, the level of crime, protest and violence have continued to escalate in different parts of the world. The deaths of loved ones due to the coronavirus has left many emotionally traumatized. Nigeria, like other African countries is not spared of the ravaging effects of the pandemic, even as the government take strict measures to contain the virus. No doubt, this is very challenging, but the country is capable of surmounting the virus with the needed help from her international partners and cooperation from the citizenry. But if we as a people, remain complacent and continue with business as usual, without taking measures to flatten the curve, the disease will escalate too quickly beyond our capacity to handle and our health system will be overwhelmed and may collapse eventually. We cannot therefore afford to be complacent in our response to containing the pandemic.

Download Full-text

AURES – the first Austrian report on antimicrobial resistance – perspective of the human sector

Weekly releases (1997–2007) ◽

10.2807/esw.12.50.03329-en ◽

2007 ◽

Vol 12 (50) ◽

Author(s):

R Strauss ◽

R Muchl ◽

S Metz-Gercek ◽

M Sagl ◽

F Allerberger ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Antibiotic Resistance ◽

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Disease Prevention ◽

Nosocomial Infections ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Communicable Diseases ◽

European Centre ◽

The Future ◽

And Control

The first epidemiological report on communicable diseases in Europe published by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) identified antibiotic resistance and nosocomial infections as one of the major threats in public health in the future.

Download Full-text

Global burden of COVID-19: Situational analyis and review

Human Antibodies ◽

10.3233/hab-200420 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 1-10

Author(s):

Addis Adera Gebru ◽

Tadesse Birhanu ◽

Eshetu Wendimu ◽

Agumas Fentahun Ayalew ◽

Selamawit Mulat ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

North America ◽

South America ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Public Health Burden ◽

Health Burden ◽

Online Databases ◽

Review Period ◽

The World ◽

And Control

BACKGROUND: The novel Coronavirus Diseases 2019 (COVID-19) is the major public health burden in the world. The morbidity and mortality of global community due to this disease is dramatically increasing from time to time. OBJECTIVE: This situational analysis is aimed to analysis prevalence, and incidence of COVID-19 and to provide clear information about this disease for the scientific community, stakeholders and healthcare practitioners and decision-makers. METHODS: The literatures were identified by searching the key relevant and officially known online databases: medRxiv, Google scholar and PubMed. The online databases contain archives of most English biomedical journals and scientific papers published online from 31 December to 3 April 2020 were included. After the literature search, articles were screened independently by two reviewers for eligibility. RESULTS: The world continents have confirmed a total of 1,202,320 confirmed COVID-19 cases: (51.2%) in Europe, (27.7%) in North America, (17.9%) in Asia, (1.96%) in South America and at less number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa and Australia which was accounted 0.8% and 0.5%, respectively. However, this review showed that there was significantly increased the confirmed COVID-19 cases by 109,555 in Asia, 8,658 in Africa, 332,866 in North America, 20,269 in South America, 568,894 in Europe, 5,051 in Australia and 1,045,403 in the whole world continent except Antarctica during the review period. The overall results showed that there were 1,098,762 cases and 59,172 deaths have recorded from during the review period. The result zero number of deaths with COVID-19 was observed in 66 countries. CONCLUSION: The review concluded that COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2 is the major public health burden in the world, the morbidity and mortality of global community is dramatically increasing from time to time. Strongly collaboration among all sectors and then design effective prevention and control strategies which include staying home, social/physical distancing, quarantine, testing of suspected patients, isolation and managing of the confirmed cases. Therefore, the world continents countries should have to implement five major COVID-19 prevention and control programmes as soon as possible at community level.

Download Full-text

Veterinary education for global animal and public health, D.A. Walsh : book review

Journal of the South African Veterinary Association ◽

10.4102/jsava.v81i2.126 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 81 (2) ◽

Author(s):

C.M.E. McCrindle

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Prevention And Control ◽

Animal Health ◽

Veterinary Students ◽

Animal Products ◽

The World ◽

Annual Volume ◽

And Control ◽

World Organisation

This 28th annual volume published by the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE), addresses the need for a global shift in the way veterinary students are taught veterinary public health (VPH). As well as taking the lead in prevention and control of animal diseases, the OIE develops health and welfare standards to promote food security and equitable international trade in animals and animal products.

Download Full-text

COVID-19 and Antimicrobial Resistance: A Review

Infectious Diseases Research and Treatment ◽

10.1177/11786337211033870 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 14 ◽

pp. 117863372110338

Author(s):

Yusuff Adebayo Adebisi ◽

Aishat Jumoke Alaran ◽

Melody Okereke ◽

Gabriel Ilerioluwa Oke ◽

Oladunni Abimbola Amos ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Antimicrobial Resistance ◽

Antibiotic Therapy ◽

Antimicrobial Stewardship ◽

Bacterial Infections ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Infectious Agents ◽

Mortality And Morbidity ◽

Medical Facilities ◽

The World ◽

Patients At Risk

As the world continues to respond to the coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), there is a larger hidden threat of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) lurking behind. AMR remains worrisome in that the pathogens causing resistant infections to thrive in hospitals and medical facilities, putting all patients at risk, irrespective of the severity of their medical conditions, further compounding the management of COVID-19. This study aims to provide overview of early findings on COVID-19 and AMR as well as to provide recommendations and lesson learned toward improving antimicrobial stewardship. We conducted a rapid narrative review of published articles by searching PubMed and Google Scholar on COVID-19 and Antimicrobial Resistance with predetermined keywords. Secondary bacterial infections play crucial roles in mortality and morbidity associated with COVID-19. Research has shown that a minority of COVID-19 patients need antibiotics to treat secondary bacterial infections. Current evidence reiterates the need not to give antibiotic therapy or prophylaxis to patients with mild COVID-19 or to patients with suspected or confirmed moderate COVID-19 illness unless it is indicated. The pandemic has also brought to the fore the deficiencies in health systems around the world. This comes with a lot of lessons, one of which is that despite the advances in medicine; we remain incredibly vulnerable to infections with limited or no standard therapies. This is worth thinking in the context of AMR, as the resistant pathogens are evolving and leading us to the era of untreatable infections. There is a necessity for continuous research into understanding and controlling infectious agents, as well as the development of newer functional antimicrobials and the need to strengthen the antimicrobial stewardship programs.

Download Full-text

Thinking and Discussion on Nursing Mode of New Infectious Diseases

Advanced Emergency Medicine ◽

10.18686/aem.v9i1.162 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 9 (1) ◽

pp. 19

Author(s):

Junping Guo

Keyword(s):

Public Health ◽

Infectious Disease ◽

Infectious Diseases ◽

Nursing Staff ◽

Management Strategies ◽

The Self ◽

Health Security ◽

The World ◽

Self Protection

With the spread of new coronavirus in the world, all countries are facing a serious public health security crisis. How to effectively deal with new infectious diseases has become a hot topic of research and discussion. Based on this, this paper first studies the self-protection of nursing staff under the new infectious disease epidemic situation, then analyses the nursing strategies of the new infectious disease epidemic situation, and finally gives the management strategies and suggestions for the new infectious disease epidemic situation nursing.

Download Full-text