Researchers recently revealed that a fish supper may increase the risk of people getting exposed to untreated bacteria due to the spread of superbugs at sea.
As per the new study, there is a surge in antibiotic-resistant bugs which are dangerous to humans in the marine environment. It also suggests that the consumption of raw or undercooked fish diners could make a person ill due to the presence of the superbugs and the victim would suffer as there is no useful medicines.
It should be mentioned that this research, which was published in the journal Aquatic Mammals included Dolphins, which themselves are a source of diet in many parts of the world such as Japan. Experts believe that mammals are a good indicator of the safety of sea life.
For this research, Bottlenose dolphins were first captured, later swabbed and then released in the Indian River Lagoon on the US Atlantic Coast by Researchers at Florida Atlantic University. The team later found that those dolphins are resistance to common antibiotics in various strains of E. coli, The Telegraph UK reported.
The scientists, who collected over 13 years samples, saw a significant increase in the resistance to drugs of a pathogen called Vibrio alginolyticus, which causes serious seafood poisoning and found evidence of resistant Acinetobacter baumannii, which can cause infections in the lungs, blood and brain.
Public Health England said there were 19 new drug-resistant types of bacteria discovered in the UK over the past 10 years, with antimicrobial resistance (AMR) being one of the gravest public health emergencies facing the world. PHE estimated that about 5,000 people die due to anti-biotic drug resistance every year in UK.
The number of people infected each year by antibiotic-resistance in the US is two million, with at least 23,000 deaths annually, according to Science Daily.
Lead researcher Adam Schaefer said he and his team had been "tracking changes over time and have found a significant increase in antibiotic resistance in isolates from these animals".
In addition, he also mentioned that "these isolates from dolphins originated from a source where antibiotics are regularly used, potentially entering the marine environment through human activities or discharges from terrestrial sources," the researcher added.
Schaefer said 80 percent of these isolates were resistant to at least one antibiotic and the most common resistance found in 91.6 percent was to erythromycin, followed by ampicillin in 77.3 percent.
The co-author of the study, Dr Peter McCarthy described the drug resistance found in the Indian River Lagoon, which is a good model marine environment comparably close to dense human habitation, a "public health concern".
