The Unrecognized Threat of Secondary Bacterial Infections with COVID-19

mBio. 2020 Aug 7;11(4):e01806-20. doi: 10.1128/mBio.01806-20.

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the greatest pandemic of our generation, with 16 million people affected and 650,000 deaths worldwide so far. One of the risk factors associated with COVID-19 is secondary bacterial pneumonia. In recent studies on COVID-19 patients, secondary bacterial infections were significantly associated with worse outcomes and death despite antimicrobial therapies. In the past, the intensive use of antibiotics during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) pandemic led to increases in the prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacteria. The rising number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and our decreasing capacity to eradicate them not only render us more vulnerable to bacterial infections but also weaken us during viral pandemics. The COVID-19 pandemic reminds us of the great health challenges we are facing, especially regarding antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; antibiotic resistance; coinfection; secondary bacterial infection.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Comment

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Bacteria
  • Bacterial Infections*
  • Betacoronavirus
  • COVID-19
  • China
  • Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
  • Coronavirus*
  • Humans
  • Inpatients
  • Pandemics*
  • Pneumonia, Viral*
  • Retrospective Studies
  • Risk Factors
  • SARS-CoV-2