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Drug-filled rivers aiding resistance to antibiotics
https://www.dw.com/en/drug-filled-rivers-aiding-resistance-to-antibiotics/a-48908859Drug-filled rivers aiding resistance to antibiotics
Date 28.05.2019
Author Clare Roth
The body of water long immortalized in Johann Strauss II's famous waltz "The Blue Danube" received an edgy new superlative on Monday: Along with being Europe's second-longest river, the Danube is now the continent's most drug-polluted.
Rivers from the Thames in England to the Tigris in Iraq host concentrations of antibiotics exceeding safe levels by up to 300 times, which could play a role in human drug resistance, according to the first international study of its kind presented on Monday.
Scientists from the University of York in England tested for 14 commonly used antibiotics in rivers in 72 countries. They found antibiotics at 65 percent of the surveyed sites, causing scientists and policy makers to recognize the role of the natural environment in the antimicrobial resistance problem, according to Professor Alistair Boxall, Theme Leader of the York Environmental Sustainability Institute.
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The latest study marks the first time many of the respective rivers have been systematically tested for a large number of antibiotics. The concentrations of drugs could contribute to antibiotic resistance, the researchers fear.
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