Antimicrobial Resistance In The COVID-19 Era: A Global Literature Review Highlighting The Need For Focused Surveillance In South Africa’s Free State And Northern Cape Provinces

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represents a mounting global health crisis that transcends geographic, political, and economic boundaries, with its presence documented across every continent. Since 2017, the burden of AMR has surged sixfold globally, signalling an urgent call for coordinated intervention. This literature review synthesizes current findings from peer-reviewed academic databases to examine the role of the COVID-19 pandemic in accelerating the trajectory of AMR and highlights persistent gaps in the global research agenda. Notably, the United States reported a 20% increase in six major bacterial antimicrobial-resistant hospital-onset infections during the pandemic compared to pre-pandemic periods. This surge peaked in 2021 and, alarmingly, remained elevated throughout 2022, underscoring the pandemic’s compounding effect on existing resistance trends and the fragility of global healthcare infrastructures.