High arsenic in water linked to antibiotic resistance in children: icddr,b study

High arsenic concentration in water is behind the spread of antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli bacteria among children in the rural areas of the country, found a new study of the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (icddr,b).

Scientists of the icddr,b and its partners found a higher prevalence of the bacteria with the capacity to resist antibiotics in both water and child stool in areas with high arsenic concentration in water in rural Bangladesh.

The resistance is higher in areas where arsenic contamination in drinking water is more evident compared to regions with less arsenic contamination, as per the research published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Escherichia coli or E coli is a bacteria that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms and often causes diarrhoea.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the leading causes of death and hospitalisation worldwide. While the significant drivers of antibiotic resistance are the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, natural elements such as heavy metals could also promote antibiotic resistance.

The researchers feared that a positive association between arsenic exposure and antibiotic resistance among children in arsenic-affected areas in Bangladesh is an important public health concern.

Researchers collected water and stool samples from mothers and children of 100 families in Hajiganj and Matlab upazilas of Chandpur.

According to the research, families in Hajiganj upazila use drinking water from shallow tube wells, which are found to have a high concentration of arsenic. In contrast, families in Matlab collect their drinking water from arsenic-free deep tube wells.

The arsenic concentration in the 50 water samples from Hajiganj was higher than the 50 water samples from Matlab.

Overall, 84% of all water and stool samples across both sites were found to be positive for E coli bacteria. However, the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant E coli was significantly higher in water in Hajiganj (48%) compared to water in Matlab (22%). It was found among 94% children in Habiganj compared to 76% children in Matlab.

Moreover, a higher proportion of E coli from Hajiganj were resistant to multiple antibiotics, including penicillin, cephalosporin, and chloramphenicol.

Mohammad Aminul Islam, lead researcher of the study and adjunct scientist at icddr,b, said, "Heavy metals such as arsenic are more stable than antibiotics in the environment. They continue to exert selective pressure on bacteria over a more extended period driving the evolution and expansion of antimicrobial resistance in the community."

"It is likely that antibiotic-resistant organisms may colonise humans and animals exposed to heavy metals even without being exposed to antibiotics," added Aminul Islam, who is also an assistant professor at the Washington State University, USA.