Antibiotics were overused during Covid-19, says UN health agency

_{Content adapted from material originally published by ONU News}

Antibiotics have been “widely overused” around the world among patients hospitalized with Covid-19 during the pandemic, without improving clinical outcomes, as well as potentially increasing the already serious and growing threat of antimicrobial resistance from “superbugs”, he said. the World Health Organization (WHO) of the UN (United Nations) this Friday (26).

In a warning, the WHO noted that although only 8% of hospitalized coronavirus patients also have bacterial infections that can be treated with antibiotics, a staggering three in four were given antibiotics “as a precaution.”

At no point during the global pandemic did the UN health agency recommend the use of antibiotics to treat coronavirus, insisted WHO spokeswoman Dr. Margaret Harris.

Viral, not bacterial

“The recommendation was very clear from the beginning, that it was a virus. So there was no guidance or recommendation for doctors to go in that direction, but maybe because people were dealing with something completely new, they were looking for what they thought might be appropriate.”

According to the UN health agency, antibiotic use ranged from 33% for patients in the Western Pacific region to 83% in the Eastern Mediterranean and African regions. Between 2020 and 2022, prescriptions declined over time in Europe and the Americas, but increased in Africa.

Last hope

Data compiled by the WHO also indicated that the majority of antibiotics were administered to critically ill Covid-19 patients, at a global average of 81%. The use of antibiotics in mild or moderate infections showed considerable variation between regions, with the highest use in Africa at 79%.

Worryingly, the UN agency found that the most frequently prescribed antibacterial antibiotics around the world were those with the greatest potential for antimicrobial resistance (AMR) to antibiotics.

“When a patient needs antibiotics, the benefits often outweigh the risks associated with side effects or antibiotic resistance. However, when they are unnecessary, they offer no benefit and present risks, and their use contributes to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance,” said Dr. Silvia Bertagnolio, head of the surveillance, evidence and laboratory strengthening unit at WHO, AMR Division.

No positive impact

The UN health agency report maintained that the use of antibiotics “did not improve clinical outcomes for patients with Covid-19”.

Instead, their systematic prescription “may create harm for people without bacterial infection, compared to those who do not receive antibiotics,” the WHO said in a statement.

“These data call for improvements in the rational use of antibiotics to minimize unnecessary negative consequences for patients and populations.”

The findings were based on data from the WHO Global Clinical Platform for Covid-19, an anonymized clinical database of patients hospitalized with the virus. The data was obtained from 450,000 patients in 65 countries from January 2020 to March 2023.

Superbugs

Antimicrobial resistance threatens the prevention and treatment of an ever-widening range of infections caused by bacteria, parasites, viruses and fungi.

It occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites change over time and no longer respond to medications, making infections more difficult to treat and increasing the risk of spreading disease, serious illness and death. As a result, medications become ineffective and infections persist in the body, increasing the risk of spreading to others.

Antimicrobials – including antibiotics, antivirals, antifungals and antiparasitics – are medicines used to prevent and treat infections in humans, animals and plants. Microorganisms that develop antimicrobial resistance are sometimes called “superbugs.”