The Same Question: Are Migrants from the Middle East to Greece Carriers of Resistant Bacteria? In 2015, the Answer was No, but in 2019 it is Yes (Letter to editor)

In 2015, the surveillance cultures from respiratory tract and wounds in migrants and refugees to Greece showed only few strains of multi-resistant bacteria. In 2019, about 33-40% of all isolates were multi-resistant to several antimicrobial agents, however the majority of refugees in 2015 (90%) were from Syria and Iraq, but in 2019 the majority are from Afghanistan (40%) and Sub-Saharan Africa (60%). Longer travel, bad travel and housing conditions following by frequent respiratory and intestinal infections cause overuse of oral and OTC (over the counter) antibiotics resulting in resistance (MRSA ESBL but also KPC).