Water bodies harbour antibiotic-resistant bacteria

Researchers at McMaster University have found that floc suspended in aquatic environments contains high levels of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

Professor Lesley Warren, who led the study, said “The presence of environmental bacterial communities in aquatic environments represents a significant largely unknown source of antibiotic resistance.” The team collected floc from Hamilton Harbour, Sunnyside Beach in Toronto, a rural stream in Guelph and a remote lake in Algonquin Park. They found the presence of 54 antibiotic resistant genes at all four sites, though higher concentrations in the dense urban areas.