80% cut in antibiotics entering Thames needed to avoid surge in superbugs.

[2greys]

The amount of antibiotics entering the River Thames would need to be cut by as much as 80 per cent to avoid the development and spread of antibiotic-resistant ‘superbugs’, a new study has shown.

Scientists from the Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (CEH) modelled the effects of antibiotic prescriptions on the development of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in a river. It found that across three-quarters of the River Thames catchment, the antibiotics present, due to effluent discharge, were likely to be at levels high enough for antibiotic-resistant bacteria to develop.

ceh.ac.uk/news-and-media/ne...

[crashdoll]

That was an interesting read but worrying! Thank you for sharing. It was helpful that it was listed how to prevent this, especially talking about preventative action. With many GP surgeries struggling due to the sheer volume of patients, limited funding and so few doctors choosing to do the GP training, I wonder how it’d work.

[James48]

Frightening 2 Greys and thanks for posting. Who would ever think about that?

[Tugun]

Wow!

[Izb1]

Its a shame that the waste cant be directed to treatment plants instead of being dumped into the rivers, that at least would help to solve the problem, but who would fund such a massive re-structure.