from the editor
from the editor
COVID-19 Impacts on Antimicrobial Resistance
this issue , we look at new data from the
In Centers for Disease Control and Prevention ( CDC ) that updates the U . S . burden of seven antimicrobial-resistant pathogens typically found in healthcare settings .
What is also notable is that the U . S . lost progress in combating antimicrobial resistance in 2020 due , in large part , to effects of the COVID-19 pandemic . The CDC COVID-19 : U . S . Impact on Antimicrobial Resistance , Special Report 2022 concluded that the threat of antimicrobial-resistant infections was not only still present but had gotten worse .
During the first year of the pandemic , more than 29,400 people died from antimicrobial-resistant infections commonly associated with healthcare . Of these , nearly 40 percent contracted the infection while they were in the hospital . The total national burden of deaths from antimicrobial resistance may be much higher , the CDC says , but data gaps caused by the pandemic hinder that analysis . In the 2022 report , CDC reports that it is missing data for nine of the 18 pathogens listed in its 2019 AR Threats Report . CDC ’ s 2019 estimates are still the most robust data to show the U . S . burden of antimicrobial resistance — at least 2.8 million antimicrobial-resistant infections continue to occur in the U . S . each year and more than 35,000 people die as a result . Antimicrobial-resistant infections and Clostridioides difficile — a bacterium that is not typically resistant but can cause deadly diarrhea and is associated with antibiotic use — cause more than 3 million infections and 48,000 deaths in the U . S . each year .
The pandemic undid much of the nation ’ s progress on antimicrobial resistance , especially in hospitals . Experts say that the U . S . must continue to invest in prevention-focused public health actions to combat antimicrobial resistance .
According to the CDC , U . S . healthcare facilities saw more healthcare-associated , antimicrobial-resistant infections , especially in hospitals . As we know , hospitals treated sicker patients who required more frequent and longer use of medical devices like catheters and ventilators . Hospitals also experienced personal protective equipment supply challenges , staffing shortages and longer patient stays . Resistant hospital-onset infections and deaths both increased at least 15 percent from 2019 to 2020 among seven pathogens .
A 2021 CDC analysis reported that after years of steady reductions in healthcare-associated infections ( HAIs ), U . S . hospitals saw significantly higher rates for four out of six types of HAIs in 2020 . Many of these HAIs are resistant to antibiotics . Antifungal-resistant threats rose in 2020 , too , including Candida auris ( C . auris ), which increased 60 percent overall — and Candida species ( excluding C . auris ), with a 26 percent increase in infections in hospitals .
In July 2024 , CDC published Antimicrobial Resistance Threats in the United States , 2021-2022 . These new data show that increased by a combined 20 percent during the COVID-19 pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period , peaking in 2021 , and remaining above pre-pandemic levels in 2022 . In addition , the number of reported clinical cases of C . auris — a type of yeast that can spread in healthcare facilities , is often resistant to antifungal medications , and can cause severe illness — increased nearly five-fold from 2019 to 2022 . These data show that additional action is critical to slow the spread and impact of antimicrobial resistance .
Pandemic-related challenges weakened many infection prevention and control practices in U . S . healthcare facilities , undoing some progress on combating antimicrobial resistance . Infection prevention and control practices include hand hygiene , cleaning equipment , separating patients and appropriately using personal protective equipment , and these practices can help prevent infections before they start .
Until next time , bust those bugs !
Kelly M . Pyrek Editor & Publisher Kelly @ healthcarehygienemagazine . com healthcarehygienemagazine
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A . G . Hettinger , CPA Patti Valdez J . Christine Phillips
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6 • www . healthcarehygienemagazine . com • august 2024