Journal
ELIFE
Volume 10, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
eLIFE SCIENCES PUBL LTD
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.64139
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Funding
- Medical Research Council [MR/P014658/1, MR/N013638/1]
- Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation [TB MAC OPP1135288]
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [M009513/1]
- National Institute for Health Research
- H2020 European Research Council [874850]
- MRC [MR/P014658/1] Funding Source: UKRI
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The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial resistance is two-fold, potentially reducing resistance through increased hand hygiene and decreased international travel, but also exacerbating it through increased antibiotic use. The dynamics of antimicrobial resistance remain uncertain at this stage, highlighting the need for global collaboration to address this intersecting public health challenge.
Before the coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began, antimicrobial resistance (AMR) was among the top priorities for global public health. Already a complex challenge, AMR now needs to be addressed in a changing healthcare landscape. Here, we analyse how changes due to COVID-19 in terms of antimicrobial usage, infection prevention, and health systems affect the emergence, transmission, and burden of AMR. Increased hand hygiene, decreased international travel, and decreased elective hospital procedures may reduce AMR pathogen selection and spread in the short term. However, the opposite effects may be seen if antibiotics are more widely used as standard healthcare pathways break down. Over 6 months into the COVID-19 pandemic, the dynamics of AMR remain uncertain. We call for the AMR community to keep a global perspective while designing finely tuned surveillance and research to continue to improve our preparedness and response to these intersecting public health challenges.
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