Superbug study to look at river pollution link

Researchers will be analysing rivers in north-east England as part of a study into the link between pollution and superbugs.

A team from Durham University has joined a project looking at how metals, sewage and other pollutants interact in rivers and if this encourages the evolution of drug-resistant bacteria, known as superbugs.

Superbugs become resistant to antibiotics, making infections harder to treat. The team will use advanced genetic techniques to study how pollution affects them.

One of the team leaders Professor David Graham, who is an expert in antimicrobial resistance, said it would help understand how to reduce risks around superbugs.

Rivers in the North East and India will be studied as part of the 10-year project, which is led by Imperial College London and funded by the UK government.

Graham said: "People do not always see the connection between a polluted river and a drug-resistant infection in a hospital, so this project brings environmental and medical research together.

"By studying both sides in the same way, we can begin to understand where superbugs evolve, how people may encounter them and what we can do to reduce the risk."

Durham University said the study brought together medicine, genetics, engineering, modelling and economics.

The aim is to inform policymakers how they can reduce pollution and slow antibiotic resistance.

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