The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on July 12 about the 15% increase in antibiotic-resistant bacteria in 2020.
The report is COVID-19: U.S. Impact on antimicrobial resistance. In the statement, the C.D.C. said that antibiotics were widely used to treat COVID-19 and bacterial infections during hospitalization.
The report does not include the C.D.C.’s apology to the public that it caused the same problem.
Why do I say that? During the pandemic, the C.D.C., together with the National Institute of Health, and the Food and Drug Administration, prohibited using effective measures like ivermectin, hydroxychloroquine, and vitamin D to treat COVID-19 early.
The instruction to the public is to stay at home and go to the hospital once you are short of breath. COVID-10 pneumonia started by that time, and the oxygen levels were low.
Once the very sick patient is admitted to the hospital, antibiotics will be started empirically because secondary bacterial pneumonia is always possible on top of the viral infection.
First-tier antibiotics will be started, and if it doesn’t work, because antibiotics don’t work on viral pneumonia, second-tier and third-tier antibiotics will be prescribed.
By that time, the patient will already be in the intensive care unit for several days, if not weeks, and consideration will also be given to possible fungal pneumonia. Hence, antifungals will be started.
Imagine that happening to all the COVID-19 patients admitted to the hospitals in 2020. The C.D.C. reports that 80% of COVID-19 patients received antibiotics.
The C.D.C. said, ” an alarming increase in resistant infections starting during hospitalization, growing at least 15% from 2019 to 2020.
The following are the top superbugs.
- Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter ( 78%)
- Antifungal-resistant Candida auris ( 60%)
- Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacterales ( 35%)
- Antifungal-resistant Candida ( 26%)
- ESBL-producing Enterobacterales ( 32%)
- Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus ( 14%)
- Multidrug-resistant P. aeruginosa ( 32%)
- Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus ( 13%)
Carbapenem and vancomycin are examples of third-tier antibiotics. You don’t want your blood cultures to test positive for any of the bacteria and fungi mentioned above.
At present, when someone gets admitted to a hospital, let’s say, for an elective surgery like hip replacement, they are at risk of being infected with any of the above.
However, hospitals have policies to prevent hospital-acquired infections. For example, the whole roll gets discarded if a medical tape is dropped on the floor.
But in hard economic times like right now, when there are shortages of almost everything, do you think the medical staff will follow strict infection control policies, or will they follow the five-second rule? “It didn’t stay on the floor for five seconds, so it is still “clean!”
The F.D.A. has a list of medical devices that are in short supply. Some nurses report shortages of intravenous fluids, tubings, and everyday medications.
How much more about the costly antibiotics that patients with “superbugs” need now?
Here’s the funny or infuriating part. On the same day, July 12, the W.H.O. called for more vaccines to be urgently developed to address antimicrobial resistance.
There are sixty-one vaccine candidates in various stages of clinical development, including several in late stages of development to address diseases listed on the bacterial priority pathogens list, which WHO has prioritized forR&D.
Of course, new vaccines mean more money for big pharma.
The rise in antibiotic-resistant germs could have been avoided if safe and effective medications were allowed to be prescribed by medical providers. That would have resulted in minimal COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths.
Instead, we have a rise in superbugs, a loss of faith in the medical system, and an economic downturn.
Truth heals. Lies kill. Don’t Get Sick!
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