Wear masks over long term to reduce antibiotics use, University of Hong Kong researchers say

Measures adopted to protect against Covid-19, including wearing masks and regularly washing hands, have led to fewer Hongkongers being infected with respiratory illnesses such as tuberculosis, and could have also reduced the need for antibiotics and lowered the resistance bacteria show to treatment, a study has found.

The research, conducted by the University of Hong Kong (HKU) and published in medical journal Antibiotics on May 31, also prompted a recommendation by a government pandemic adviser for mask wearing to continue during the winter flu season even when the pandemic was over.

“Our findings suggested that non-pharmaceutical measures in reducing the incidence of respiratory infections may be one of the strategies to control the amount of antibiotic consumption in humans, which may impact the burden of antibacterial resistance in the long run,” wrote Professor Yuen Kwok-yung, HKU’s chair of infectious diseases.

“However, a major rebound in the incidences of these respiratory pathogens and antibiotic consumption is highly likely when these measures are relaxed.”

In the study, researchers from the department and school of nursing and paediatrics reviewed data on the wholesale antibiotics supply, notifications of scarlet fever, chickenpox and tuberculosis collected by the Centre for Health Protection and data on blood cultures of patients admitted to public hospitals between 2012-19 and 2020-21.

The academics observed a “significant reduction” in community-acquired bacteria in the bloodstream caused by encapsulated bacteria with respiratory transmission potential such as Streptococcus pyogenes, Streptococcus pneumoniae, Haemophilus influenzae and Neisseria meningitidis.