Antibiotics overuse and superbugs could be the reason behind the worsening COVID-19 crisis in India.
A study conducted by ICMR across 10 hospitals including two (Sion and Hinduja) in Mumbai showed that more than half of the COVID-19 patients who get a secondary bacterial or fungal infection die.
According to a report by TOI’s Malathy Iyer, many patients required strong antibiotics to ward off superbugs. These superbugs cannot be treated with usual antibiotics.
Overuse of antibiotics and antifungals cause of concern
Drug-resistant variants of Klebsiella pneumonia, Acinetobacter baumannii, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were amongst the most common bacterial infections, the report said.
Antibiotics are prescribed to COVID-19 patients who end up staying in the hospital for a longer period to protect them against hospital-acquired infection.
Overuse of antibiotics and antifungals may be behind the surge in rare infections such as black fungus or mucormycosis.
According to Dr Amitabh Malik, Chief- ENT, Paras Hospital, Gurugram, human bodies are constantly attacked by different bacteria and fungi; however, they are kept under control by the immune system.
‘Compromised immune system breeding ground for fungal, bacterial infections’
When the immune system is compromised due to heavy and unreasonable use of steroids, diabetes, or cancer treatment; it provides a breeding ground for these fungi and bacteria to grow and multiply rapidly.
“Most diabetic patients suffering from COVID-19, who are being given steroids, have a high chance of being affected by the black fungus. To prevent it, people should stop the misuse of steroids,” he said.
Over the past few weeks, India has been reporting several cases of black fungus.
On Thursday, the Delhi government declared ‘Black Fungus’ (Mucormycosis) an epidemic in the national capital.
There are more than 600 cases of black fungus in the national capital.