In the midst of the COVID pandemic, another one is slowly brewing that may, by 2050, kill 10 million people a year. This global pandemic is caused by antimicrobial resistance which, in turn, results from antibiotic prescribing routines and purchasing and food decisions on a societal level. Epidemiologists have been ringing the bell for years about the dangers of antibiotic resistance. The reality is that new antibiotic development is being rapidly outpaced by the rate of bacterial resistance. The number of new antibiotics approved by the FDA is dwindling each year, while the rate of bacterial mutation is growing exponentially. In years past, it took 21 years for a bacteria to become resistant, while now it takes only one year on average.
One type of mutating bacteria is carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae (CRE), which now kills 1,000 people each year in the U.S. A common antibiotic in the hospital setting is MRSA (methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus), which causes even more deaths each year.
Another common hospital-based infection is clostridioides difficile (C. diff), which occur in a half-million patients each year, with at least 29,000 causing death within one month of initial diagnosis.
The driving factor in this pandemic for this proliferation is overuse of antibiotics by health-care providers. Antibiotics are commonly prescribed for viral illnesses, such as sinus infections, ear infections, sore throats, and the common cold. Patients often want – and even demand – antibiotics when they think they have an infection.
In its recent iteration, the over-prescription of antibiotics has expanded in treating COVID-19. A study in the Journal of Clinical and Infectious Diseases found that, of 2,000 patients hospitalized with COVID-19, 72% received an antibiotic. Data suggests that antimicrobial resistance is thus worsening during the COVID-19 pandemic.
But medical treatment is not the only culprit in creating this pandemic. In the U.S., 70-80% of all antibiotics are given to animals, where crowded conditions facilitate mutations. Once an animal develops resistance to a bacteria, it can spread to the environment and to food, eventually transferring to people who eat this food. Although many food producers and even restaurants are publicizing their use of antibiotic-free animal products, it remains a major source of concern about the new bacteria-resistant pandemic.
