A new study, to be published in November in the journal Science of the Total Environment, found that the waterways in Brazil’s two biggest cities have become “major sources of multidrug-resistant bacteria,” reports SciDev.Net. It is the first time these so-called superbugs have been found in these waters, which include those off the beaches of Rio de Janeiro, Guanabara Bay, which sits on the city’s eastern edge, and the waterways of São Paolo.
“Researchers identified 23 strains of 11 bacteria species in samples collected throughout 2013,” the site says. “Among the species found were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae, which are all responsible for most hospital infections and are resistant to the most commonly used antibiotics.”
Nilton Lincopan, the lead author of the study, told SciDev.Net that the cause is likely untreated wastewater from homes and hospitals.
“The threat of ‘superbugs’ is growing alarmingly in the developing world,” the site says. “And according to the WHO, multidrug-resistant bacteria are responsible for approximately 700,000 deaths globally every year, and 23,000 of those occur in Brazil.”