Antibiotics’ influence persists in the environment long after they’ve done their duty, according to recent studies that revealed a global problem with drugs found in major rivers. The samples were screened for 14 different types of commonly used antibiotics. No continent was immune.
Researchers found traces of at least one drug in 65 percent of all the samples they studied from 72 rivers across the globe.
Source: National Geographic, May 29, 2019. Link. Antibiotic pollution, in which excess antibiotics enter natural systems and influence the bacteria living there, helps speed along the development of resistant strains.
In many ways it’s like the plastic pollution problem. The issue is we don’t think about where our waste goes, and that it has a life beyond us.”