British scientists suggest that the mutant bacteria found in the Sow River near the city of Coventry owe their origin to industrial effluents, writes The Independent.
Bacteria resistant to any drug have been discovered for the first time. They were found in sediment samples taken at the outlet of the plant's sewage system on the Sow River. Microbes have mutated genes that make them resistant to the latest generation of antibiotics.
"The researchers believe that their discovery demonstrates that antibiotic resistance is created and spread in sewage treatment plants, which act as giant 'mixing tanks', where this drug resistance can spread between various microbes," the newspaper writes.
The study showed that a wide range of microbes living in the river have acquired a genetic mutation that confers resistance to third-generation cephalosporins, a class of antibiotics widely used to treat meningitis, blood infections and other infectious diseases.
In the river sediment, scientists also found E. coli, an antibiotic-resistant called imipenem, which is given intravenously to treat serious infections that are resistant to other antibiotics.
“We didn't expect to see microorganisms with this level of environmental resistance. This is mind-boggling,”The Independent quotes Professor Elizabeth Wellington of the University of Warwick who led the study.
“This is very disturbing and we are very worried. We underestimated the role of wastewater, which can so affect the resistance of microorganisms to antibiotics,”she said.
Promotional video:
Measurements have shown that the level of antibiotic resistance is significantly higher in bacteria in the river downstream than upstream of Coventry.
“The problem is that river water is used to irrigate agricultural land, people swim in the river and ride boats on it, pets come into contact with water. These bacteria can also spread significantly during heavy rains and floods,”said Professor Wellington.
“We are on the brink of Armageddon. Antibiotics can just stop working overnight,”she added.
Earlier this month, British Prime Minister David Cameron warned that the world could be "thrown back into medieval medicine," where people are dying from highly common and treatable infections caused by drug-resistant bacteria, The Independent recalls.
