Leveraging the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment to assess changes in antibiotic use and antibiotic-resistant E. coli carriage in semi-rural Ecuador.

ABSTRACT: The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has had significant impacts on health systems, population dynamics, public health awareness, and antibiotic stewardship, which could affect antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) emergence and transmission. In this study, we aimed to compare knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) of antibiotic use and ARB carriage in Ecuadorian communities before versus after the COVID-19 pandemic began. We leveraged data collected for a repeated measures observational study of third-generation cephalosporin-resistant E. coli (3GCR-EC) carriage among children in semi-rural communities in Quito, Ecuador between July 2018 and September 2021. We included 241 households that participated in surveys and child stool sample collection in 2019, before the pandemic, and in 2

SUBMITTER: Amato HK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10491794 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature