Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance
The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge in antimicrobial use. The increase in use is multifactorial, and is particularly related to the empirical treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and suspected coinfections with antimicrobials and the limited quality of diagnostics to differentiate viral and b...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-02-01
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| Series: | Antibiotics |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/11/2/244 |
| _version_ | 1827657545968254976 |
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| author | Itai Chitungo Tafadzwa Dzinamarira Tinashe K. Nyazika Helena Herrera Godfrey Musuka Grant Murewanhema |
| author_facet | Itai Chitungo Tafadzwa Dzinamarira Tinashe K. Nyazika Helena Herrera Godfrey Musuka Grant Murewanhema |
| author_sort | Itai Chitungo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | The global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge in antimicrobial use. The increase in use is multifactorial, and is particularly related to the empirical treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and suspected coinfections with antimicrobials and the limited quality of diagnostics to differentiate viral and bacterial pneumonia. The lack of clear clinical guidelines across a wide range of settings, and the inadequacy of public health sectors in many countries, have contributed to this pattern. The increased use of antimicrobials has the potential to increase incidences of antimicrobial resistance, especially in low-resource countries such as Zimbabwe already grappling with multidrug-resistant micro-organism strains. By adopting the antimicrobial stewardship principles of the correct prescription and optimised use of antimicrobials, as well as diagnostic stewardship, revamping regulatory oversight of antimicrobial surveillance may help limit the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance during this pandemic. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:46:17Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3ae54e7b2cde4df9a22ead2cf6ca2db7 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2079-6382 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T22:46:17Z |
| publishDate | 2022-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Antibiotics |
| spelling | doaj.art-3ae54e7b2cde4df9a22ead2cf6ca2db72023-11-23T18:28:54ZengMDPI AGAntibiotics2079-63822022-02-0111224410.3390/antibiotics11020244Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial ResistanceItai Chitungo0Tafadzwa Dzinamarira1Tinashe K. Nyazika2Helena Herrera3Godfrey Musuka4Grant Murewanhema5Chemical Pathology Unit, Department of Medical Laboratory Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, ZimbabweSchool of Health Systems & Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaDepartment of Clinical Sciences, Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, Liverpool L3 5QA, UKSchool of Pharmacy and Biomedical Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Portsmouth PO1 2UP, UKSchool of Health Systems & Public Health, University of Pretoria, Pretoria 0002, South AfricaUnit of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Department of Primary Health Care Sciences, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, University of Zimbabwe, Harare, ZimbabweThe global COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in an upsurge in antimicrobial use. The increase in use is multifactorial, and is particularly related to the empirical treatment of SARS-CoV-2 and suspected coinfections with antimicrobials and the limited quality of diagnostics to differentiate viral and bacterial pneumonia. The lack of clear clinical guidelines across a wide range of settings, and the inadequacy of public health sectors in many countries, have contributed to this pattern. The increased use of antimicrobials has the potential to increase incidences of antimicrobial resistance, especially in low-resource countries such as Zimbabwe already grappling with multidrug-resistant micro-organism strains. By adopting the antimicrobial stewardship principles of the correct prescription and optimised use of antimicrobials, as well as diagnostic stewardship, revamping regulatory oversight of antimicrobial surveillance may help limit the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance during this pandemic.https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/11/2/244COVID-19antimicrobial resistanceantimicrobial stewardship |
| spellingShingle | Itai Chitungo Tafadzwa Dzinamarira Tinashe K. Nyazika Helena Herrera Godfrey Musuka Grant Murewanhema Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance Antibiotics COVID-19 antimicrobial resistance antimicrobial stewardship |
| title | Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance |
| title_full | Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance |
| title_fullStr | Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance |
| title_full_unstemmed | Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance |
| title_short | Inappropriate Antibiotic Use in Zimbabwe in the COVID-19 Era: A Perfect Recipe for Antimicrobial Resistance |
| title_sort | inappropriate antibiotic use in zimbabwe in the covid 19 era a perfect recipe for antimicrobial resistance |
| topic | COVID-19 antimicrobial resistance antimicrobial stewardship |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2079-6382/11/2/244 |
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