The increased use of antibiotics in fighting COVID-19, could lead to more deaths – WHO reveals

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday, said the increased use of antibiotics in fighting COVID-19, could lead to more deaths.

WHO director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, speaking during a virtual press conference in Geneva, said a “worrying number” of bacterial infections were becoming increasingly resistant to the medicines traditionally used to treat them.

According to Ghebreyesus, the inappropriate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 would further escalate the trend.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has led to an 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,” he said

The WHO noted that only a small percentage of coronavirus patients needed antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections.

Ghebreyesus added that there was an “overuse” of antibiotics in certain parts of the world, while in some other countries, such life-saving medicines were unavailable, “leading to needless suffering and death”.

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