COVID-19 restrictions limited interactions of people and resulted in lowered E. coli antimicrobial resistance rates.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Antibiotic resistance is rising globally and is a major One Health problem. How much person-to-person transmission or 'contagion' contributes to the spread of resistant strains compared with antibiotic usage remains unclear. As part of its COVID-19 response, Australia introduced strict people movement restrictions in early 2020. Along with internal lockdown measures, movement of people into Australia from overseas was severely restricted. These circumstances provided a unique opportunity to examine the association of people movements with changes in resistance rates.

Methods

Monthly resistance data on over 646 000 Escherichia coli urine isolates from 2016 till 2023 were modelled for statistical changes in resistance trends during pre-lockdown, lockdown and

SUBMITTER: Collignon P 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11306925 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature