Abstract
Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has emerged as a global pandemic due to its high transmissibility and pathogenicity. It is a beta clade zoonotic coronavirus like severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV) and middle east respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Though no effective medication has been developed against the deadly COVID-19 disease, henceforth old antimicrobial drugs have been repurposed to treat the COVID-19 patients. In this report, a brief account of the used medication and the potential mechanism of antimicrobial drugs against SARS-CoV-2 has been provided. Based on the earlier incidences, the antimicrobials are expected to lose the battle against SARS-CoV-2. The vast lacuna in the research and development of vaccines has led to overuse of the already formulated antimicrobial drugs, which in turn has led to a distressing problem called “Antimicrobial resistance (AMR)”. A complete assay of AMR has been given including its cause, mechanism, spread, and consequences. The other two interlinked problems, namely environmental deterioration and secondary infections, are elaborated. Moreover, to combat the AMR problem, the way forward has been discussed in detail.
Keywords: COVID-19, antimicrobial resistance, environmental degradation, secondary infections, SARS-CoV-2, MERSCoV.
Graphical Abstract
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