A new study by Swedish researchers has found birds carrying drug resistant bacteria in the far reaches of the tundra of Siberia, northern Alaska and Greenland.

“We were extremely surprised,” says Bj?rn Olsen, professor of infectious diseases at Uppsala University and at the Laboratory for Zoonosis Research at the University of Kalmar.

“Bacteria display a unique ability to adapt to changes in their environment and to develop mechanisms to protect themselves against toxic compounds “ Their ability to develop resistance mechanisms to antimicrobial drugs has assumed catastrophic proportions, rendering more and more infections difficult or impossible to treat. Most reports suggest that the main force behind emergence of drug resistance is the use and misuse of antimicrobial drugs during the past few decades, but there is also evidence for the epidemic spread of drug-resistant bacteria as a contributing factor.” Write the study authors.

In the study published in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases, scientists analyzed samples from 97 birds from these remote regions. “We took samples from birds living far out on the tundra and had no contact with people. This further confirms that resistance to antibiotics has become a global phenomenon and that virtually no region of the earth, with the possible exception of the Antarctic, is unaffected.”

In their discussions of the study results, the researchers are clear on the potential threat posed by the adaption of bacteria to commonly prescribed drugs. “ It’s alarming to find that these bacteria exist among birds out on the tundra,” says Jonas Bonnedahl, a physician infectious specializing in infectious diseases in Kalmar and one of those participating in the expedition. “Our findings show that resistance to antibiotics is not limited to society and hospitals but is now spreading into the wild. Escalating resistance to antibiotics over the last few years has crystallized into one of the greatest threats to well-functioning health care in the future.”

Of course, the adaption of bacteria to antibiotics, raises serious questions about the growing use of vaccines and the natural adaptive capabilities of viruses, as seen in the recent emergence of resistant forms of polio and mumps.

Source
Emerging Infectious Diseases