CDC official: Pandemic “explosion” of antibiotic resistance not seen

Despite concerns over antimicrobial resistance flourishing during the pandemic as doctors use all their tools to help patients fight COVID-19, early indications are that their efforts may not be causing a large increase, a CDC official tells Axios.

Why it matters: AMR is a growing problem, as the misuse or overuse of antibiotics creates resistant pathogens that cause more than 2.8 million infections and 35,000 deaths annually in the U.S.

• AMR is projected to kill up to 10 million people per year globally by 2050.

What’s happening: COVID-19 appears to present “the perfect storm” for AMR infections due to the longer length of hospital stays (averaging 8.4 days), crowding, PPE shortages, and intrusive treatments, says Arjun Srinivasan, CDC’s associate director for Healthcare Associated Infection Prevention Programs.