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A new study by icddr,b scientists and partners has found a higher prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli (E.Coli) in both water and child stool in areas with high arsenic concentration in water in rural Bangladesh.
E. coli is a bacteria that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms and often causes diarrhoea.
The study was published in PLOS Pathogens journals on December 8, said a press release.
Researchers collected water and stool samples from mothers and children of 100 families from Hajiganj and Matlab upazilas of Chandpur.
Families in Hajiganj upazila use drinking water from shallow tube wells which have a high concentration of arsenic while families in Matlab upazila collect their drinking water from arsenic-free deep tube wells.
The study found that resistance is higher in areas where arsenic contamination in drinking water is more evident compared to regions with less arsenic contamination.
The median arsenic concentration in the 50 water samples from Hajiganj was over 48 times higher than the World Health Organisation recommended value of arsenic (10 μg/L). In Matlab it was 0 μg/L.
Although an overall 84% of all water and stool samples were found to be positive for E. coli, the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant E. coli was significantly higher in water in Hajiganj (48%) compared to water in Matlab (22%).
It was 94% among the children in Hajiganj and 76% among the children in Matlab. Moreover, a higher proportion of E. coli from Hajiganj were resistant to multiple antibiotics, including penicillin, cephalosporin, and chloramphenicol.
The researchers fear that a positive association between arsenic exposure and antibiotic resistance among children in arsenic-affected areas in Bangladesh warrants immediate redoubling efforts to reduce arsenic exposure.
Prabhat Talukdar, one of the co-first authors of the publication said that they have found that arsenic-resistant E. coli are more likely to be resistant to a particular group of antibiotics, especially the third-generation cephalosporins, which are commonly used for the treatment of bacterial infections.
“Our current study is investigating the mechanisms of co-resistance to arsenic and antibiotics among these isolates,” he added.
Lead researcher of the study Mohammad Aminul Islam, an Adjunct Scientist at icddr,b and Assistant Professor at the Washington State University of USA said that antibiotic-resistant organisms may expose humans and animals to heavy metals even without being exposed to antibiotics, increasing possibilities of resulting in a higher rates of antimicrobial resistance among the rural people.
“Our current research findings indicate that it is the right time to investigate further about the influence of other heavy metals like lead, mercury or iron which has a high burden in various environments of the country,” said Mohammed Badrul Amin, lead author of the research and also Associate Scientist at icddr,b.
