Dermatologist warns of rise in drug-resistant superbugs post Covid-19

Chandigarh: A dermatologist here has opined that a rise has been noted in drug-resistant superbugs, “Recalcitrant Dermatophytosis”, a fungal infection of the skin, The Indian Express reported.

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has been on the rise for years, but a surge in the use of “antibiotic and antifungal” during the Covid-19 pandemic has fuelled the process recently, Dr Vikas Sharma MD PGI said. He is the chief consultant dermatologist and dermato-laser surgeon at National Skin Hospital, Mansa Devi Co.

According to him, the evolution of antimicrobial drugs is inevitable in the world.

He said that fungal infections of the skin used to be the easiest to diagnose and treat but have become a nightmare for dermatologists as well as patients. Now, fungal infections have become less responsive to conventional antifungal drugs, he said.

He said that after the advent of the pandemic, in the global panic to contain the infections, antibiotics and antifungals were deployed uncontrollably. This was driven by multiple factors such as causative agent factors, host factors, drug-related factors, and environmental factors, Sharma said.

Further, self-medication by patients also played a role in furthering the problem. According to him, patients administered themselves with available cheap steroid-antifungal-antibiotic combination creams etc. Though these creams give instant relief, it tends to damage the skin by making it thinner and turning the infection chronic and recalcitrant. The usage of such creams changes the entire morphology of the skin lesions. He advises not to perform self-medication.