| Researchers writing in
the open access journal Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica point out
the danger of antibiotic resistance genes passing into the human food
chain. Leena Sahlström, from the Finnish Food
safety Authority, worked with a team of researchers from the Swedish
National Veterinary Institute to study sewage sludge from a waste-water
treatment plant in Uppsala, Sweden. She said, "Antimicrobial resistance
is a serious threat in veterinary medicine and human healthcare.
Resistance genes can spread from animals, through the food-chain, and
back to humans. Sewage sludge may act as one link in this chain".
The researchers collected sludge from the plant every
week for four months, for a total of 77 samples. Of these, 79% tested
positive for the drug resistant superbugs. Although VRE themselves are
not generally considered to be highly pathogenic, the danger is that
they may pass on their resistance genes to other bacteria. Sahlström
concludes, "Our results demonstrate a need for more efficient hygienic
treatment of sewage sludge, in order to avoid possible spread of
antimicrobial resistance through use of sewage sludge on arable land".
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