Antimicrobial resistance and one health in the post COVID-19 era: What should health students learn?

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a critical worldwide health issue that jeopardizes our ability to fight illnesses. However, despite being a natural phenomenon, AMR is exacerbated in the world by inappropriate administration of an antimicrobial medication such as under-use or overuse by the general population, farmers, and various health professionals. The onset of the COVID-19 pandemic has put the world in a shocking state. The pandemic exacerbated the problem of antimicrobial resistance, which was largely caused by irrational off-label use of antivirals, anthelmintics, antimalarials, and, most notably, macrolide antibiotics. As a result, monitoring the AMR progression during the pandemic has been critical. The One Health Approach is progressively becoming the most widely utilized and recommended approach in the ongoing fight against AMR. The aim of this article is to address the lack of teachings in AMR and the One Health Approach in health student training curricula, as well as to provide recommendations that can be implemented as we progress beyond the COVID-19 era.

Malaria and COVID-19: A double battle for Burundi.

Malaria has become a serious public health concern in Burundi. An outbreak that has the potential to evolve into an epidemic has eradicated nearly as many individuals as the Ebola crisis within the adjacent Democratic Republic of the Congo. The government's delay to announce a national crisis, increased breeding sites as a result of flooding, and the presence of multi-drug resistant malaria have exacerbated the burden. With a concurrent COVID-19 pandemic, economic complications, and overlap of symptoms between both diseases, these challenges are complex, but not unfamiliar. Organizations such as Médecins Sans Frontières have carried out spraying campaigns, and the government is actively mitigating efforts to handle the pandemic. That being said, there is still a need to enhance preventive measures such as increasing technological capacity and epidemiological surveillance to better withstand challenges.

Impact of poor disease surveillance system on COVID-19 response in africa: Time to rethink and rebuilt.

Infectious disease outbreaks have long posed a public health threat, especially in Africa, where the incidence of infectious outbreaks has risen exponentially. Although, Africa has witnessed several outbreaks of emerging and re-emerging infectious diseases such as Ebola virus disease and other epidemic-prone diseases, little attention has been given towards strengthening the health surveillance systems. However, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered the region's already due to inefficient and ineffective health surveillance systems. However, the impact posed by the COVID-19 pandemic on health systems in the region has been catastrophic, it has also stressed the importance of rethinking and focusing on lessons learned during the COVID-19 pandemic. In this paper, we examine how Africa's poor disease surveillance systems affected the responses and strategies aimed at COVID-19 containment. To ensure early disease outbreak identification and prompt public health interventions in Africa, the current disease surveillance and response mechanisms must be strengthened.