They thought it was only happening in the rivers of India-but scientists have now discovered antibiotic-resistant superbugs in the Hudson River around New York.
Untreated raw sewage, pumped directly into the river, appears to be the source, say scientists from the city’s Columbia University. The bugs are resistant to common antibiotics such as ampicillin and tetracycline, which are usually used to treat ear infections, pneumonia and salmonella.
The scientists took water samples from 10 different locations along the river, from the Tappan Zee Bridge to lower Manhattan, and found microbes that were resistant to at least one of the antibiotics in the vast majority of samples.
People swim in the Hudson, but the researchers urge would-be swimmers to first check that their favourite spot is free of the superbugs, while people who already have compromised immune systems should stay out of the Hudson.
(Source: Journal of Water and Health, 2013; 11: 297).
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