Pollution from Indian drugmakers drives drug resistance
Areas around manufacturing sites still heavily contaminated with antimicrobials and breeding multidrug-resistant pathogens
Effluent from Indian pharmaceutical firms contains high levels of antibiotics, and is contributing to the growth and spread of multi-drug resistant (MDR) bacteria.
A team led by Christoph Lübbert from Leipzig University Hospital, Germany, studied antibiotic pollution in Hyderabad, where 30% of India’s drug exports are manufactured. They collected water samples close to bulk drug manufacturing facilities in and around the Patancheru–Bollaram industrial zone on the city’s outskirts; near two sewage treatment plants; and from the Musi River and habitats within Hyderabad and nearby villages.