WHO warns against increasing use of antibiotics to treat COVID-19 patients

The World Health Organisation (WHO) on June 1 warned against the increasing use of antibiotics in treating coronavirus patients saying that it will lead to people developing resistance against such drugs and ultimately will cause more deaths. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus during a media briefing said, "The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of antibiotics, which ultimately will lead to higher bacterial resistance rates that will impact the burden of disease and deaths during the pandemic and beyond."

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"I’m glad to say a record number of countries are now monitoring and reporting on antibiotic resistance - marking a major step forward in the global fight against drug resistance. But the data they provide reveals that a worrying number of bacterial infections are increasingly resistant to the medicines we have traditionally treated them with. As we gather more evidence, it’s clear that the world is losing its ability to use critically important antimicrobial medicines all over the world," Tedros added further. 

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WHO outlined guidance

Tedros said that in some countries there is an overuse of antibiotics and antimicrobial agents in both humans and animals, while in low- and middle-income countries these lifesaving drugs are out of reach for those that need them. Tedros also said that WHO has outlined in its current Clinical Management of COVID-19, Interim Guidance the appropriate use of antibiotic therapy for medical professionals to treat patients.   

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