Drug-resistant bacteria risk for surfers

Monday January 15th, 2018

Surfers and others who spend hours in the sea risk significant exposure to antibiotic resistant E.coli, a medical school in Devon, UK, has found.

Exeter Medical School, which is close to some of the UK’s main surfing destinations, tested some 143 surfers.

The researchers say the findings highlight the growing risk from drug-resistant bacteria in the environment.

Some 9% of the surfers – 13 – were found to have colonies of E.coli bacteria resistant to cefotaxime, the researchers report in Environment International. This compared with 3% of a sample of 130 non-surfers.

They believe that surfers are highly vulnerable as they swallow large amounts of water in comparison with swimmers.

Researcher Dr Anne Leonard said: "Antimicrobial resistance has been globally recognised as one of the greatest health challenges of our time, and there is now an increasing focus on how resistance can be spread through our natural environments.

“We urgently need to know more about how humans are exposed to these bacteria and how they colonise our guts.”

Dr Will Gaze, from the medical school, added: “We are not seeking to discourage people from spending time in the sea, an activity which has a lot of benefits in terms of exercise, wellbeing and connecting with nature. It is important that people understand the risks involved so that they can make informed decisions about their bathing and sporting habits.

“We now hope that our results will help policy-makers, beach managers, and water companies to make evidence-based decisions to improve water quality even further for the benefit of public health."

And David Smith, of Surfers Against Sewage, said: “While this research highlights an emerging threat to surfers and body-boarders in the UK it should not prevent people from heading to our coasts. Water quality in the UK has improved vastly in the past 30 years and is some of the cleanest in Europe.

“Recognising coastal waters as a pathway for antibiotic resistance can allow policy makers to make changes to protect water users and the wider public from the threat of antibiotic resistance.”

Environment International 14 January 2018

Tags: Fitness | Pharmaceuticals | UK News

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