Researchers have found antibiotic-resistant genes are spreading to bacteria on Australian wildlife, says Macquarie University. Scientist Michelle Power says the transfer of genetic resistance probably is being spread by naturally occurring mobile genetic elements called integrons, which can pass genes between species of bacteria and can be spread through water. “It is worrying that we are seeing antibiotic resistance in bacteria of wild animals that have never been treated with antibiotics,” Power said in a release by the university in Sydney, Australia.
“We found the closer the contact between the wildlife with humans, the more animals within a population were carrying the antibiotic-resistant bacteria,” said Power. For example, penguins in Sydney Harbor carried the bacteria.
Many nations, including the United States, are trying to preserve the efficacy of medically important antibiotics for treating disease in humans. Power said the discovery of resistant genes in wildlife raises questions about the ability to treat disease in them in the future. “We also need to be asking what else wildlife is picking up from human and domestic animals in terms of bacteria or other disease agents, and if that is hurting our efforts to conserve biodiversity,” she said in the Macquarie release.