Managing antimicrobial resistance during COVID-19

Coinciding with Antimicrobial Awareness Week 2020, a new case study report has been released that offers a platform for people living with drug-resistant infections, those who survived, and doctors who deal with them.

The report, from the front lines of the pandemic in the UK, US, South Africa and India, captures unique perspectives on the COVID-19 pandemic, providing a first-hand look at how the real-life experience and challenges of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) collide with the reality of COVID-19.

Published by Nesta Challenges – home of the Longitude Prize, a £ 8 million award to accelerate the development of a point-of-care diagnostic test that will preserve antibiotics for future generations – the report is a warning that without action on the pandemic in slow movement of AMR, more lives will be lost and the foundations of modern medicine will fail.

Daniel Berman, Global Health Lead, Nesta Challenges, said: “Long before COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance was increasing and disrupting the lives of thousands of people every year. For profiled people AMR items, life-threatening antibiotic resistance is not a dystopian fiction, it is something they have already faced or are still facing today. COVID-19 has made their challenge even more intense. While shedding light on how COVID-19 has impacted them, we also want to challenge readers to ask themselves: Can’t we start tackling antimicrobial resistance before it becomes an all-consuming crisis?

“The all hands on the deck the battle against COVID-19 needs to be replicated to address antimicrobial resistance. This includes improved strategies for the development of new antibiotics, new and innovative treatment techniques, continuous improvement in management, infection control and hygiene, and accelerated investments in the development of a new rapid diagnostics. “

Personal experiences

The report contains personal experiences in addressing the antimicrobial resistance pandemic during the COVID-19 crisis. One contributor’s experience notes that just as patients had to think twice before visiting a hospital this year to avoid the risk of contracting COVID-19, people do the same to avoid drug-resistant bacterial infections. .

Key rumors and stories from the report include: Dr ranj singh (UK), NHS emergency pediatrician and TV presenter, dreading the day he will have to tell the parents of a sick child that they are out of treatment options; Ronda Windsor (UK), living with a chronic drug-resistant UTI, talks about the toll the pandemic has taken on her mental health, also limiting her access to her doctor and essential antibiotics; Dr. Abdul Ghafur (India) recounting his twist of fate when he was hospitalized as a COVID-19 patient and his fears of being ventilated due to his increased exposure to a hospital-acquired infection; Vanessa Carter (South Africa) who complains that his government has not treated antimicrobial resistance as the public health emergency that it is; is Mary Millard (USA), which reminds us that sepsis already kills 99,000 kills per year in the United States, putting COVID-19 in perspective.

Eva Garmendia, Project Coordinator, Uppsala Antibiotic Center, Uppsala University, Sweden, said: “In today’s world, where two major global health problems, COVID-19 and antimicrobial resistance (AMR), coincide, it is of utmost importance. work to understand how they might interact with each other. This report, with first-hand experiences from patients and doctors, focuses on exactly that and encourages us to think more than ever about the need for sustainable solutions that will keep antimicrobial resistance at bay. ready to act and protect future patients from resistant infections? “

“Advancing the patient’s voice is critical to understanding the impact of antimicrobial resistance. It’s not just about numbers, publications and policies – it’s the impact these drug-resistant infections have on individuals and their families, as well as the risk to modern medicine we all use and rely on today, “he added. Diane Flayhart, Global Program Leader, Antimicrobial Resistance Fighter Coalition, USA.

To read the full report click here.