A new study has found traces of antibiotic resistance genes in the High Arctic region.It also included the ‘superbug’ or the New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase-1 protein (coded by NDM-1 gene), which was first detected in urban India in 2008.
Key Facts:
Samples were collected from Kongsfjorden region of Svalbard – a Norwegian archipelago in the Arctic Ocean – in 2013.
Researchers found “comparatively localised” levels of blaNDM-1, which poses no health threat.
However, the “detection reinforces how rapidly antibiotic resistance (AR) can globalize.
Importance Of This Study:
The findings underscore the value of characterizing remote locations with minimal ‘impact’, providing a baseline for quantifying the spread of AR around the world.
We already understand drivers for antibiotic resistance to be human misuse and overuse, poor sanitation and extensive use in agriculture.
However, we still do not understand the pathways that cause this resistance to spread around the globe.
Less than three years after the first detection of the blaNDM-1 gene, we found them thousands of miles away in an area where there has been minimal human impact.
NDM-1 (blaNDM-1) is a clinical ARG that is not found in nature, and has to come from the urbanised world.
Hence, this study presents a crucial step forward in understanding how AMR transmits around the globe.
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