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The increase in pneumococcus cases in Spain due to antibiotic-resistant strains has been aggravated by Covid-19. This is revealed by a study carried out by researchers from the Pneumococcus Reference Laboratory of the Isciii National Center for Microbiology and the Ciber of Espiratory Diseases (Ciberes). The results of the research have been published in the scientific journal The Lancet Microbe. Specifically, the work has analyzed the situation of antibiotic resistance in pneumococcus in Spain between 2004 and 2020. This analysis has made it possible to characterize the impact of the different pneumococcal vaccines and epidemiological changes in the pattern of antimicrobial resistance during the first year of the Covod-19 pandemic. The results of the research have been published in the journal The Lancet Microbe. Likewise, they show that the introduction of the 7-valent and 13-valent conjugate vaccines in Spain in the pediatric population have been “very effective” in reducing the burden of disease due to pneumococcal-resistant strains in the adult population thanks to the phenomenon of group immunity. However, the authors of the article have warned of an increase in serotypes not included in the 13-valent vaccine, mainly 11A and 24F, associated with resistance to antibiotic treatment that is a public health concern. The bacterium ‘streptococcus pneumoniae’, known as pneumococcus, is the main cause of bacterial-type community pneumonia The bacterium ‘streptococcus pneumoniae’, known as pneumococcus, is the main cause of bacterial-type community pneumonia. This bacterium generates an invasive disease that poses a threat to the population at risk. Specifically, those under 5 years of age and those over 65 years of age, since this disease is accompanied by high rates of morbidity and mortality. In the opinion of the main authors of the study, Miriam Domenech and José Yuste, the observed increase in resistance to antibiotics of the beta-lactam and macrolide types during the first year of the pandemic could be attributed to the widespread use of these drugs in patients infected with the SARS-virus. CoV-2 to avoid bacterial co-infections. The study also includes prophylactic and therapeutic measures that could help combat and reduce the clinical impact of these resistances. “The use of broader-spectrum conjugate vaccines could help reduce the impact of antibiotic resistance against these emerging serotypes. The antibiotics cefotaxime and cefditoren were the ones that showed the lowest levels of antibiotic resistance in pneumococcus”, the researchers concluded. Complementary news