“Threat of antibiotic resistance from Cape Town’s drought”

“Cape Town’s drought could fuel growing resistance to common antibiotics as more people are expected to become sick when normal hygiene practices are pushed aside in the name of saving water – resulting in more antibiotics being dispensed.

“In drought situations one usually sees an increase in the transmission of bacterial and viral infections through food and waterborne processes. Also if people wash their hands less the worry is that we’ll begin to see more diarrhoeal disease in particular,” said antimicrobial resistance (AMR) expert Professor Marc Mendelson, who heads up the University of Cape Town’s infectious diseases division.”

Source: Health E-News

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