Shampoo, household cleaning products, fabric softeners, disinfectants, shampoos and other household products are spreading drug-resistant bacteria around Britain, scientists have warned. Detergents used in factories and mills are also increasing the odds that some medicines will no longer be able to combat dangerous diseases.
The warning has been made by Birmingham and Warwick university scientists, who say disinfectants and other products washed into sewers and rivers are triggering the growth of drug-resistant microbes. We pump 11bn litres of water from houses and factories along with disinfectants that kill good germs and allow bad ones to thrive. This water enter our rivers and estuaries every day, and these are also spreading resistance.
Soil samples from many areas have been found to contain high levels of bacteria with antibiotic-resistant genes, the scientists have discovered - raising fears that these may have already been picked up by humans.
The study is important because it suggests that the problem of drug resistance is not merely the result of the over-prescription of antibiotics or poor hygiene standards in hospitals. However, the team stressed the emergence of the most deadly superbugs - such as MRSA that has caused thousands of deaths in hospitals - is not linked to the use of disinfectants.
The theory about washing hands using water to help us reduce spread is now likely to increase infections in the near future.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/science/2009/mar/29/detergents-drug-resistant-bacteria
