A new study conducted in rural Bangladesh has found that areas with high levels of groundwater arsenic contamination that children drink regularly have a greater prevalence of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli compared to areas with lower contamination levels.

Escherichia coli is a bacteria that is commonly found in the lower intestine of warm-blooded organisms and often causes diarrhoea.

Antibiotic resistance is one of the leading causes of death and hospitalisation worldwide. While the significant drivers of antibiotic resistance are the overuse and misuse of antibiotics, natural elements such as heavy metals could also promote antibiotic resistance. 

The study by icddr,b scientists and partners was recently published in the journal PLOS Pathogens.

Researchers collected water and stool samples from mothers and children of 100 families in two upazila's – Hajiganj and Matlab of Chandpur. Families in Hajiganj use drinking water from shallow tube wells, which are found to have a high concentration of arsenic.

However, families in Matlab collect their drinking water from arsenic-free deep tube wells.

Read more: 360cr people face inadequate access to water: UN agency

"A positive association between arsenic exposure and antibiotic resistance among children in arsenic-affected areas in Bangladesh is an important public health concern. That warrants redoubling efforts to reduce arsenic exposure," the authors said.

The study's lead researcher, Mohammad Aminul Islam, adjunct scientist at icddr,b and Assistant Professor at the Washington State University of the US said: "Heavy metals such as arsenic are more stable than antibiotics in the environment. They continue to exert selective pressure on bacteria over a more extended period driving the evolution and expansion of antimicrobial resistance in the community."

"It is likely that antibiotic-resistant organisms may colonise humans and animals exposed to heavy metals even without being exposed to antibiotics," Aminul said.

"The extent to which this phenomenon drives the observed higher rates of antimicrobial resistance, as opposed to other confounders, would benefit from further study; nevertheless, it is critical to contain this environmental driver of antimicrobial resistance along with responsible antimicrobial usage in medicine and agriculture."

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