Good Day BIO: Superbugs surged in 2020 as pandemic weakened defenses

The pandemic made antimicrobial resistance worse, says a new report released yesterday by the CDC. Meanwhile, with little progress reported from yesterday’s meeting between the U.S. and Mexican Presidents, it’s time we confirm the Chief Agricultural Negotiator at USTR, says BIO. (702 words, 3 minutes, 30 seconds)

Superbugs surged in 2020 as pandemic weakened defenses

"The COVID-19 pandemic pushed back years of progress made combating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the United States," leading to a surge in superbug infections, says a report released yesterday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

In a nutshell:Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) prevention lapsed, and antibiotics were overprescribed in hospitals overwhelmed by COVID-19, says the report. Hospital-onset infections and deaths increased about 15% between 2019 and 2020. 

Specifically:

• Dangerous blood stream and urinary tract infections from Carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter rose 78%.
• Hospital infections rose for deadly superbug yeast Candida auris (60%) and “nightmare bacteria,” Carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (35%).
• 3 of 5 antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and fungi saw increased hospital infections. 

Several factors led us here, says the CDC:

• Hospitals dealt with sicker patients using devices like ventilators and catheters that break the body’s protective barriers, enabling infection.
• Doctors leaned heavily on antibiotics—but since COVID-19 is viral, antibiotics had no effect. Over-prescription of antibiotics can fuel drug-resistant microbes.
• Data collection was delayed, leaving infections undetected and untreated.
• Progress in AMR prevention was undone at overburdened hospitals.

What should we do? We need improvements in AMR prevention and data —including from wastewater—judicious use of antibiotics, and development of new drugs, CDC says.

We also need to stabilize the antimicrobial ecosystem to support the research, development and commercialization of new and novel antimicrobials—by urgently enacting legislation like the bipartisan, bicameral PASTEUR Act, which would create critical ‘pull incentives’ for new drug development. 

Read CDC’s report.

More Health Care News: 

Bio.News (Opinion): Biotech’s voice needs to get louder—and clearer, says BIO Board member
“If we want people to trust what we’re saying, they have to be able to understand what we’re saying,” writes Mike Huckman, a member of the BIO Board of Directors Emerging Companies Section and Global Practice Leader, Executive Communications, at Real Chemistry.

Why we need an agricultural negotiator at USTR

With Mexico and other countries stonewalling progress by imposing barriers to trade in biotech crops, we need a Chief Agricultural Negotiator at the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR), a position that has been vacant since 2020.

The context: Mexico has been falling short in upholding the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), specifically by failing to approve new biotech crops—and Mexico’s President wants to end imports of genetically modified corn for human consumption by 2024. While members of Congress like Adrian Smith (R-NE) called on the White House to press this issue, little progress was reported after President Biden hosted Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador yesterday.

This is why the Senate needs to approve the nominee for Chief Agricultural Negotiator:Doug McKalip, who has the backing of nearly 100 organizations (including BIO), who sent a letter last week to Senate Finance Committee leaders urging swift approval.

He has the right experience: “In addition to his current position as a trusted advisor to Secretary (Tom) Vilsack, Mr. McKalip has served in numerous leadership positions in USDA and has represented American farmers, ranchers and agriculture around the world,” the letter says.

Specifically—his resumé includes leadership at USDA’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service, Biotechnology Regulatory Services, and coordinating federal policy for the Advisory Committee on Biotechnology & 21st Century Agriculture.

Beyond Mexico, the Chief Agricultural Negotiator needs to work on removing trade barriers in the Indo-Pacific, “the enforcement of existing trade agreements and the imperative of tackling non-tariff barriers to trade around the world,” the letter said.

The big picture: “Russia’s war against Ukraine has disrupted the global supply of commodities, which increases the risk of food insecurity for millions,” says USTR Ambassador Katherine Tai in her endorsement of McKalip—more evidence of why ag needs to top trade discussions.

President Biden’s Wednesday: Receiving a briefing on the Iron Dome defense system and attending a wreath laying at Yad Vashem in Jerusalem as he kicks off a Middle East trip focused on Arab-Israeli ties, CNN reports.

What’s Happening on Capitol Hill: The Senate HELP Committee will hold a hearing on Reproductive Care in a Post-Roe America: Barriers, Challenges, and Threats to Women's Health. The House Agriculture Committee holds A 2022 Review of the Farm Bill: Forestry. Energy & Commerce will mark up five bills including H.R. 3630, the “Lymphedema Treatment Act.” The House Committee on Oversight and Reform will hold a hearing on The Impact of the Supreme Court’s Dobbs Decision on Abortion Rights and Access Across the United States.