The aftermath of antibiotic dumping in Pune’s Mula Mutha River

Read on to know about Pune city’s influence on Antibiotic Resistant faecal bacteria in Mula-Mutha river in India.

The river Mula-Mutha in Maharashtra State, India originates in the Western Ghats and flows through rural and urban parts of Pune district. It is the major source of drinking water and domestic use for households along its banks. The bacteria in the river were screened for resistance to 8 high end antibiotics.

It was found that a significant number were resistant to more than six different antibiotics with some being resistant to all eight tested. It is important to note that ninety-four strains out of two hundred and twenty tested were resistant to imipenem, an orally administered antibiotic reserved for use as “last resort” while resistance to injectables was much less.

Since most of the resistant bacteria were found at points adjoining and downstream of Pune city, it is evident that Pune city is a major influencing factor for the spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment. This may impact health of the population utilising the river water body downstream of Pune city.

The results highlight the need for enforcing waste management with special emphasis on hospital waste.

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