The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned against the indiscriminate use of antibiotics in treating the coronavirus infection.
The global health body warned that the inappropriate and indiscriminate use of antibiotics during the COVID-19 could cause more problems than what it is supposed to solve.
The warning was handed down on Monday, by WHO director-general, Tedros Ghebreyesus, while speaking during a virtual press conference in Geneva.
He warned that; “The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased use of antibiotics, which ultimately will lead to higher bacterial resistance rates that will impact the burden of disease and deaths during the pandemic and beyond.”
Ghebreyesus noted that the use of antibiotics may not be totally ruled out as only a small percentage of coronavirus patients needed antibiotics to treat subsequent bacterial infections but the indiscriminate use should be avoided.
He said there is an “overuse” of antibiotics in certain parts of the world, while in some other countries, such life-saving medicines were unavailable, “leading to needless suffering and death”.