2 min
Covid-19 is accelerating the threat of antimicrobial resistance (Extended) Sixty Second Spotlight
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- Society & Culture
Molecular microbiologist Dr Emma Hayhurst explores how Covid-19 is accelerating the threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Find out more: southwales.ac.uk/research
The recent Covid-19 pandemic has (rightly) made us all much more aware of the risks of picking up infection. Hand sanitisers are selling out, and people are more wary than ever about touching contaminated surfaces or breathing in contaminated air.
In the midst of a global pandemic, this behaviour is useful to try to slow the spread of infection. But what about the longer term consequences, when Covid is gone? I have spent a career trying to combat ‘germaphobia’ and as a mum to two young children, I am the first to allow my children to ‘eat a bit of dirt’. We humans do not need to live in sterile environments, and indeed we should not. Exposure to some germs helps us build a health immune system.
The negative impacts of germaphobia are many. One is an increase in the use of plastic packaging (reversing a hard-fought campaign to reduce it – I noticed on my last food shop that all of the broccoli is now individually wrapped). Another is an increase in the use of household cleaning products and the negative impacts on the environment this will have. The psychological impact may be far reaching, too. Young kids taught not to cuddle in case they pass on the virus may be a lesson which proves difficult to forget.
Another big concern is the impact of this pandemic on levels of antibiotic resistance. Infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria are much harder to treat and, before the Covid pandemic, dealing with antibiotic resistance was a major global health priority. My research focuses on this very issue - understanding the reasons behind the increase in antibiotic resistance that we have seen in recent decades.
We know that many things associated with the Covid pandemic are likely to make the situation with antibiotic resistance worse – from the ‘worried well’ taking more antibiotics through to the increased use of cleaning products which can also drive an increase in antibiotic resistance.
So here I am, in support of our germ-y friends. Covid is a sobering reminder of the power of microbes to disrupt our lives. But we can’t banish them – they are everywhere, and we need them. They are part of what makes us human. So, when this is over - let’s cautiously welcome them back.
Molecular microbiologist Dr Emma Hayhurst explores how Covid-19 is accelerating the threat of antimicrobial resistance.
Find out more: southwales.ac.uk/research
The recent Covid-19 pandemic has (rightly) made us all much more aware of the risks of picking up infection. Hand sanitisers are selling out, and people are more wary than ever about touching contaminated surfaces or breathing in contaminated air.
In the midst of a global pandemic, this behaviour is useful to try to slow the spread of infection. But what about the longer term consequences, when Covid is gone? I have spent a career trying to combat ‘germaphobia’ and as a mum to two young children, I am the first to allow my children to ‘eat a bit of dirt’. We humans do not need to live in sterile environments, and indeed we should not. Exposure to some germs helps us build a health immune system.
The negative impacts of germaphobia are many. One is an increase in the use of plastic packaging (reversing a hard-fought campaign to reduce it – I noticed on my last food shop that all of the broccoli is now individually wrapped). Another is an increase in the use of household cleaning products and the negative impacts on the environment this will have. The psychological impact may be far reaching, too. Young kids taught not to cuddle in case they pass on the virus may be a lesson which proves difficult to forget.
Another big concern is the impact of this pandemic on levels of antibiotic resistance. Infections caused by antibiotic resistant bacteria are much harder to treat and, before the Covid pandemic, dealing with antibiotic resistance was a major global health priority. My research focuses on this very issue - understanding the reasons behind the increase in antibiotic resistance that we have seen in recent decades.
We know that many things associated with the Covid pandemic are likely to make the situation with antibiotic resistance worse – from the ‘worried well’ taking more antibiotics through to the increased use of cleaning products which can also drive an increase in antibiotic resistance.
So here I am, in support of our germ-y friends. Covid is a sobering reminder of the power of microbes to disrupt our lives. But we can’t banish them – they are everywhere, and we need them. They are part of what makes us human. So, when this is over - let’s cautiously welcome them back.
2 min