The world’s major rivers are awash with excessively high levels of antibiotics, British researchers have warned.
Excessively high levels were found in parts of the Thames in the UK -but in Bangladesh a river has 170 times the concentration of drugs of the Thames, a conference heard.
Researchers at the University of York unveiled their findings in Helsinki, Finland, at the conference of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry.
Ciproflaxacin was the drug found most often to exceed safety levels. Researchers found excessively high levels in 51 places. In parts of the Thames it was found at three times safe levels.
The researchers search for 14 common antibiotics in 72 countries in six countries. They found the drugs at 65% of the monitored sites. The researchers said that many of the countries had not been monitored before.
Professor Alistair Boxall, from the York Environmental Sustainability Institute, said: "The results are quite eye opening and worrying, demonstrating the widespread contamination of river systems around the world with antibiotic compounds.
"Many scientists and policy makers now recognise the role of the natural environment in the antimicrobial resistance problem. Our data show that antibiotic contamination of rivers could be an important contributor."
He added: "Solving the problem is going to be a mammoth challenge and will need investment in infrastructure for waste and wastewater treatment, tighter regulation and the cleaning up of already contaminated sites."
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