2025/05/24 by Laurance Fakih, Fakih, Laurance, A. Halanay +1
Immunology and Microbiology · Social Sciences · #Antibiotic Use and Resistance #FOS: Biological sciences #FOS: Physical sciences #Misinformation and Its Impacts #Physics and Society (physics.soc-ph) #Populations and Evolution (q-bio.PE) #Vaccine Coverage and Hesitancy
paper · pdf · doi:10.48550/arxiv.2505.21540
openalex publication_date 2025/05/24 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/28
Antimicrobial Resistance (RAM) poses a significant threat to global public health, making important medicines less useful. While the medical and biological reasons behind RAM are well studied, we still don't know enough about how false health information affects people's actions, which can speed up RAM. This study presents a new mathematical model to investigate the complex interplay between the spread of misinformation and the dynamics of RAM. We adapt a multi-strain fake news model, including distinct population compartments representing individuals susceptible to, believing in, or skeptical of various ideas related to antibiotic use. The model considers multiple "strains" of misinformation, such as the wrong belief that antibiotics are effective for viral infections or not trusting medical advice regarding prudent antibiotic prescription. Time delays are integrated to reflect the latency in information processing, behavioral change, and the manifestation of resistance. Through stability analysis and numerical simulations, this research aims to identify critical factors and parameters that influence the propagation of harmful beliefs and their consequent impact on behaviors contributing to RAM. The findings could help develop public health campaigns to reduce the negative impact of misinformation on fighting antimicrobial resistance.