Drug Resistance in the Air, Texas Scientists Warn

A new study has found that antibiotic resistant genes have gone airborne in US, posing a threat to global health.

According to TIME, the study analyzed air particulate matter (PM) around 10 cattle yards located within a 200 mile radius of Lubbock in Texas. They found the presence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistant gene sequences laced in fine dried fecal matter. Researchers attribute airborne drug resistant genes to poor absorption of antibiotics in cattle and subsequent excretion into the environment.

"Once in the environment, antibiotics can facilitate de novo development of bacterial antibiotic resistance and provide a selective advantage for bacteria that acquire resistance either in treated animals or in the environment," researchers wrote.

Researchers warned that large wind events can transport dust and antibiotic resistant genes worldwide, where they could induce resistance in other bacteria and undermine global health.

"There is significant potential for widespread distribution of antibiotics, bacteria, and genetic material that encodes antibiotic resistance via airborne PM as a result of the large mass of fine particles released daily from beef cattle feedyards in the Central Plains of the United States. Dispersal of PM is facilitated by significant wind energy potentials and frequent wind events in this region," they wrote.

The study will be published in the next issue of Environmental Health Perspectives.

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