PATIENT Covid-19 cannot be given antibiotics, unless in rare circumstances a secondary bacterial infection is found in the patient’s body.
This warning comes after a study led by the University of Glasgow found that antibiotic use was very high in the population Covid-19 patient hospitalized in the UK and deemed ineffective.
“Covid-19 is a viral infection. Antibiotics are not really effective against viral infections, unless there is a bacterial co-infection,” said the study’s lead author, Dr Antonia Ho of the MRC-University of Glasgow Center for Virus Research, quoted by HuffPost.
Not only do antibiotics not work to treat viruses like Covid-19, but their unnecessary use can leave patients vulnerable to future and perhaps more worrying side effects, one of which increases the risk of antibiotic resistance.
A similar statement was made by a pulmonary specialist, Dr. Erlina Burhan, SpP, that Covid-19 patients do not need to be given antibiotics. “Because he is fighting viral infections, not bacteria,” he said in the FKUI health webinar, Friday (4/6/2021).
Also Read: Professor of FKUI: Until now there is no medicine for Covid-19
However, in Indonesia some doctors still prescribe the use of azithromycin which is an antibiotic type drug. However, Dr. Erlina emphasized that the use of azithromycin here is not used as an antibiotic, but as an anti-inflammatory.
“Especially for Covid-19, the drug azithromycin is used not for its antibiotic function but as an anti-inflammatory and immunomodulator,” he explained.
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