Pandemic Fueled Surge in Superbug Infections and Deaths, CDC Says
By Lena H. Sun
Hospital "superbug" infections, which declined almost 30% during 2012–2017, made a comeback during the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a new Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) analysis. The downward trend reversed in 2020 as the public health emergency got underway, with infections and deaths among several serious pathogens rising about 15% overall from prior-year levels as hospitals were overrun with sicker patients. A shortage of personal protective equipment for staff at the onset of the crisis also helped the drug-resistant pathogens thrive, but the report noted additional contributors. Infection-control protocols often lapsed, for example, with all able bodies at short-staffed facilities assigned to care for COVID patients. Meanwhile, overreliance and inappropriate use of antibiotics prevailed in the absence of other treatments for sick patients. Sadly, noted Arjun Srinivasan, who leads CDC's prevention campaign against superbugs, some patients beat COVID-19 only to succumb to a deadly drug-resistant infection acquired while they were hospitalized. In particular, hospitals saw an increased in carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter, Candida auris, and carbapenem-resistant enterobacteriaceae.
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