14 DAY TRIAL // University of Michigan (U-M) investigators say that superbugs can easily form in wastewater treatment plants, due to the fact that not many pharmaceutical and chemical companies take care in rendering the antibiotics residues they produce inactive.
In the large bacterial fermentation tanks that each treatment plant has, antibiotics can interact with each other, and with microorganisms in the wastewater, to create species of antibiotics-resistant superbugs that are then discharged into rivers and streams.
A superbug is a microorganism that is capable of resisting all chemical agents we throw at it. The methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacteria, which claims many lives in hospitals around the world, is a good example of such an adaptable organism.
In time, a bacteria can become resistant to not just one, but several different antibiotics, or combination of antibiotics. Researchers say that the multiplication of superbugs needs to be avoided at all costs, otherwise infected patients will not be saved regardless of the treatment doctors apply.
The new investigation was carried out by U-M School of Public Health assistant professor Chuanwu Xi. His main conclusion was that the wastewater treatment installations themselves are not to blame for this dangerous situation.
Together with his team, the expert analyzed water samples collected from five locations around the Ann Arbor Waste Water Treatment Plant. The researchers discovered the multi-drug-resistant bacteria Acinetobacter in the waters.
Xi explains that people have two nasty habits when it comes to antibiotics – some overuse the drugs, unknowingly allowing superbugs to develop in their own bodies, while other flush the pills down the toilet, introducing them in the wastewater management system.
“When we monitored the survival of these bugs in the Huron River, the downstream level dropped quickly to the level of upstream. More robust risk-assessment research is needed to assess the exact risk,” Xi says in the new research.
“This study, along with many other studies, alerts us to proper use and handling of antibiotics,” he goes on to say. The expert adds that one way of preventing superbug formation is the installation of technology dedicated to removing bio-solid material from the wastewater. However, this is expensive.
Finally, the expert launches an appeal to people who want to dispose of their unused antibiotics. He cautions them to do so properly, at special sites or in pharmacies, and not simply dump the chemicals into the toilet or the sink.