Covid-19 pandemic tied to antibiotic resistance in pneumonia bacterium
A modelling study suggests that the proportion of cases involving pneumonia-causing bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics has increased amid the covid-19 pandemic
Health
16 February 2023
In severe cases, the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae can cause pneumonia and serious blood infections Kiyoshi Takahase Segundo/Alamy
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria may have become more of an issue amid the covid-19 pandemic. While a modelling study suggests that Europe’s various lockdowns resulted in a decline in cases of a pneumonia-causing bacterium from 2019 to 2020, the proportion of cases that were resistant to antibiotics increased.
People with covid-19 may be at a greater risk of bacterial infections because fighting off viruses hinders the immune system’s ability to tackle invading bacteria. Confirmed or even …