A sample of antibiotic tablets. [Photo: gstatic.com]Untreated waste from major urban centres like Nairobi and Mombasa could lead to untreatable diseases in the near future.Scientists have warned that there is clear evidence that antibiotics residues in sewage from households, hospitals and pharmaceutical facilities, and in farms, is driving the emergence of drug resistant bacteria.“We need policies on how to treat sewage so that it has the specified bacterial load,” said Tabitha Kimani, a antimicrobial resistance regional coordinator for the Food and Agricultural Organisation.This, she says, could imply that simple infections that were once treatable with a simple dose of antibiotics could soon sicken and even kill patients.She noted that once consumed, up to 80 per cent of antibiotic drugs are excreted un-metabolised along with resistant bacteria.“They contaminate water and sometimes fish, which people consume in food, leading to resistance to antibiotics,” she added as quoted by the Star.Kimani spoke at the ongoing United Nations Environment Assembly during the launch Frontiers 2017 report on emerging issues of environment concern.The report further finds that the role of the environment in the emergence and spread of resistance to antimicrobials is particularly concerning.The report looks at six areas: the environmental dimension of antimicrobial resistance; nanomaterials, marine protected areas, sand and dust storms, off-grid solar solutions, and environmental displacement.United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) executive director Erik Solheim speaking at the same time, said environment ministers need to act now.“The warning here is truly frightening: we could be spurring the development of ferocious superbugs through ignorance and carelessness,” he said according to the Star.He added: “Studies have already linked the misuse of antibiotics in humans and agriculture over the last several decades to increasing resistance, but the role of the environment and pollution has received little attention."

Share news tips with us here at Hivisasa