Genes associated with antibiotic-resistant superbugs have been discovered in the high Arctic, one of the most remote places on Earth, showing the rapid spread and global nature of the resistance problem.
The genes were first identified in a hospital patient in India in 2007 or 2008, then in surface waters in Delhi in 2010, probably carried there by sewage, and are now confirmed in soil samples from the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard in the Arctic circle, a paper in journal Environment International said.
They might have been carried by migrating birds or human visitors, but human influences on the area are minimal, the paper said.
While the genes, called blaNDM-1, have been identified in Svalbard soil, the presence of superbugs has not. The genes can confer on bacteria resistance to carbapenems, which are antibiotics of last resort for the treatment of human diseases.
Antibiotic resistance threatens a global “apocalypse,” English Chief Medical Officer Sally Davies has said, and last week, UK Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock called it a bigger threat than climate change or warfare.
Common operations could become life-threatening, and rapidly spreading and evolving diseases could overcome our last medical defenses, reversing nearly a century of remarkable progress in human health.
For the study, DNA was extracted from 40 samples of soil at eight locations in Svalbard, and among these, a total of 131 antibiotic-resistant genes were found. The blaNDM-1 gene was found in more than 60 percent of the soil cores studied.
This discovery in such a remote region demonstrates the role that poor sanitation can play in generating antibiotic resistance, said David Graham, a professor of ecosystems engineering at Newcastle University, who led the research team.
While efforts to curb the growth of resistance have concentrated on overuse of antibiotics, the research shows that there are other pathways by which resistance can be spread, he said.
“What humans have done through excess use of antibiotics is accelerate the rate of evolution, creating resistant strains that never existed before,” he said.
Poor sanitation provides a breeding ground for resistant bacteria that can then spread rapidly.
The research showed the need for a worldwide response to the resistance crisis in place of the piecemeal efforts in some regions to curb overuse of the drugs in healthcare, Graham said.
“Local strategies can only do so much — we must think more globally,” he said. “The problem will be political.”
Wealthy countries and wealthy people in developing countries who feel insulated from the filthy conditions of the world’s poor might find themselves falling victim to the same superbugs as resistant bacteria evolve rapidly in poor sanitation and can spread far afield.
Superbugs kill about 2,000 people in the UK each year and a further 53,000 people are seriously affected.
Last week, the UK government announced new measures to cut the use of antibiotics by 15 percent over the next five years, through education, preventive measures, more testing and changing prescription practices.
A new UK National Health Service initiative is also planned to encourage pharmaceutical companies to invest in developing new antibiotics by changing the way that they are paid for some medicines.
Drug companies have largely left the field of antibiotics research over the past 40 years to pursue more profitable lines of business, meaning that the “pipeline” of new medicines has been largely empty.
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