COVID-19 Pandemic Impacts on Humans Taking Antibiotics in China

The outbreak of the novel coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has resulted in the increased human consumption of medicines. Antibiotics are of great concern due to their adverse effects, such as increased bacterial resistance and dysbiosis of gut microbiota. Nevertheless, very little is known about the changes in self-medication with antibiotics during the COVID-19 pandemic and the resultant potential health risks. Herein, we examined the concentration profiles of some commonly used antibiotics in human urine collected from several geographical regions in China between 2020 and 2021. Antibiotics were found in 99.2% of the urine samples at concentrations ranging from not detected (nd) to 357 000 (median: 10.2) ng/mL. During the COVID-19 pandemic, concentrations of urinary antibiotics were remarkably higher than those found either before the pandemic or in the smooth period of the pandemic. Moreover, elevated levels of antibiotics were determined in urine samples from the regions with more confirmed cases. The exposure assessment showed that hazard index values >1 were determined in 35.2% of people. These findings show that human exposure to antibiotics increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, and further research is imperative to identify the public health risks.