Superbugs are becoming a serious problem. Every year some 700,000 people die worldwide from infections caused by multi-resistant microorganisms that have evolved to become almost untreatable by antibiotics. So ugly things look, that in September 2016 the UN spoke of “an apocalyptic risk for the future of humanity”
Surfers could be inadvertently contributing to this threat. Playing their sport in polluted waters, they swallow the superbugs that thrive in them and when they return to dry land they become unwitting propagators.
Superbugs catch the good wave
Anne Leonard, an epidemiologist at the University of Exeter (United Kingdom), is working to find out the seriousness of the threat from microorganisms that are introduced into coastal waters by sewage discharges, and which are resistant to antibiotics.
In her research, she and her team have analyzed the feces of 143 surfers and 130 swimmers who often play sports in the waters of England and Wales. Bottom line: wave riders were at higher risk than swimmers for infections caused by highly resistant strains of E. Coli bacteria . Up to 10% of those who were infected did not respond to treatment with cefotaxime, the antibiotic that is commonly used against many ailments of bacterial origin.
Scientists led by Leonard have found that E. Coli in polluted coastal waters changes genetically and becomes resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics, a class that includes penicillin derivatives.
Escherichia coli is found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and warm-blooded animals. Most of the time it is harmless, but its dangerous versions cause diseases that can be very serious and even fatal, especially for children in poor countries. .
A world war
This research may be another brick in the retaining wall against superbugs, turned into a nightmare largely due to the abuse of antibiotics and their misuse, which helps microorganisms to harden: when a strain finds a way to circumvent to an antibiotic, it is quickly passed on to others. An example referring to Spain: according to data from the Research Institute in Primary Care, 60% of the prescriptions of these drugs against respiratory infections such as bronchitis and pharyngitis are unnecessary.
And this is no joke: a report commissioned by the British Government and published in 2015 indicates that unless new antibiotics emerge to replace current ones, infections will be responsible for 10 million deaths annually in 2050. That is, one death every three seconds, more than the current figures for cancer victims.
