One of my research students is studying the presence of antibiotic resistance genes in bacteria in stream and river muds, comparing pristine waters with polluted along a stretch of a river in the Waikato region of New Zealand.
She sampled mud from the river and isolated bacteria. Her next step was to test the bacteria for resistance to a set of antibiotics drawn from two classes of antibiotics used in animal rearing and human therapy.
The results are surprising: of 40 isolates, only one was sensitive to any of the antibiotics tested. At this stage, there is no smoking gun, but it is certainly of concern to see such antibiotic resistance in so many different bacteria in the environment.
***. This article was published on 05/12/2012. I recently read another article by Jack Heinemann and Sophie Joy van Hamelsveld in Stuff: https://www.stuff.co.nz/pou-tiaki/300930926/antibioticresistant-bacteria-in-wild-cockles-and-watercress-putting-people-at-risk-of-serious-illness.
This raises yet another concern about antibiotic resistance. The testing of water for recreational use does not guarantee that mahinga kai, wild-harvested foods, such as shellfish, are safe to eat. Shellfish can concentrate bacteria from the water to high levels, even when the tested water appears to be safe. ***
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment
Comments on this blog are welcome, as are questions and suggestions for further articles. Comments are moderated to reduce the incidence of spam. If your comment includes a link to a commercial site, it will normally be rejected. If you have sent a "Thank you" comment, please don't be offended if it is not published - I appreciate your message.