Common weedkiller linked to the development of superbugs in hospitals
Earth.com • • health
Key Points:
- A study from Argentina reveals that bacteria in a protected wetland, never directly exposed to glyphosate, show high tolerance to the herbicide and are genetically related to drug-resistant bacteria found in hospitals.
- Researchers found that both environmental and hospital bacteria use similar mechanisms, such as toxin-expelling pumps and gene clusters, to resist glyphosate and antibiotics, suggesting cross-resistance.
- The study highlights how glyphosate runoff from agricultural fields and hospital sewage converge in waterways, facilitating the exchange and spread of antibiotic resistance genes between environmental and clinical bacteria.
- This discovery calls for regulatory changes, including testing pesticides for their potential to promote antibiotic resistance and improving hospital wastewater treatment to combat the spread of drug-resistant infections.
- Published in Frontiers in Microbiology, the research underscores the interconnectedness of agricultural practices and hospital infection control in addressing the global antibiotic resistance crisis.