Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an emerging public health problem in modern times and the current COVID-19 pandemic has further exaggerated this problem. Due to bacterial co-infection in COVID-19 cases, an irrational consumption of antibiotics has occurred during the pandemic. This study aimed to observe the COVID-19 patients hospitalized from 1 March 2019 to 31 December 2020 and to evaluate the AMR pattern of bacterial agents isolated. This was a single-center study comprising 494 bacterial isolates (blood and urine) that were obtained from patients with SARS-CoV-2 admitted to the ICU and investigated in the Department of Microbiology of a tertiary care hospital in Delhi, India. Out of the total bacterial isolates, 55.46% were gram negative and 44.53% were gram positive pathogens. Of the blood samples processed, the most common isolates were CoNS (Coagulase Negative Staphylococcus) and Staphylococcus aureus. Amongst the urinary isolates, most common pathogens were Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus. A total of 60% MRSA was observed in urine and blood isolates. Up to 40% increase in AMR was observed amongst these isolates obtained during COVID-19 period compared to pre-COVID-19 times. The overuse of antibiotics gave abundant opportunity for the bacterial pathogens to gradually develop mechanisms and to acquire resistance. Since the dynamics of SARS-COV-2 are unpredictable, a compromise on hospital antibiotic policy may ultimately escalate the burden of drug resistant pathogens in hospitals. A shortage of trained staff during COVID-19 pandemic renders it impossible to maintain these records in places where the entire hospital staff is struggling to save lives. This study highlights the extensive rise in the use of antibiotics for respiratory illness due to COVID-19 compared to antibiotic use prior to COVID-19 in ICUs. The regular prescription audit followed by a constant surveillance of hospital infection control practices by the dedicated teams and training of clinicians can improve the quality of medications in the long run and help to fight the menace of AMR.

Worldwide around 2 million deaths occur every year due to diarrhoeal illnesses among children less than 5 years of age. Among diarrhoeagenic Escherichia coli, Enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) is highly prevalent in both community and hospital settings and is one of the main causes of persistent diarrhea in children in developing countries. EPEC remains underdiagnosed in India due to lack of conventional tools for identification. We in this study investigated the prevalence and regional variation of EPEC in paediatric population suffering from diarrhoea in East Delhi, India. Two hundred stool samples were collected from children, aged between 0.5 and 5 years, with acute diarrhoea. E. coli were identified by conventional tests and PCR. We observed 7% atypical EPEC (aEPEC) and 2.5% typical EPEC (tEPEC), with an overall 9.5% EPEC prevalence amongst total samples. E. coli phylogenetic group A was the predominant. The most common age group affected was 6-23 months with common symptoms being vomiting, watery diarrhoea and severe dehydration. High drug resistance pattern was observed in EPEC isolates. The study depicts a changing trend of aEPEC over tEPEC in children less than 5 years with diarrhoea, an emerging drug resistant enteropathogen and a public health concern demanding monitoring and surveillance.