The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on antimicrobial drug resistance

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is one of the biggest public health problems today. It is estimated that by 2050, AMR will be responsible for the deaths of more than 10 million people, and the cost of hospitalizations will exceed $100 trillion.

The increased use of antibiotics leads to the emergence and spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), which poses a major challenge to global health policy strategy. One of the main recommendations in overcoming this problem is the rational use of antibiotics.

The COVID-19 pandemic around the world has been accompanied by an increase in the consumption of antimicrobials. Although it is a disease caused by a virus, the consumption of antimicrobials has increased due to fears of the possibility of bacterial superinfection. Given that 5 years have passed since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, only in the future will studies be able to assess the damage caused in the field of antimicrobial resistance. One of the most serious consequences is the global spread of resistant pathogens, since pathogens know no borders. Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance is particularly important in developing countries, where relevant data on antimicrobial resistance are lacking. An additional problem is the fact that infection control in these countries is below optimal levels, which poses a danger to the rapid spread of pathogens, as well as the fact that drugs for the treatment of multidrug-resistant organisms are less available. Because of this phenomenon, the aim of this monograph is to describe how this viral pandemic has affected the increase in the prescription of antimicrobials and secondarily the increase in resistance in the Republic of Srpska, which is the first such documented testimony of AMR immediately after the COVID-19 pandemic.