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Antibiotic Resistance Is Spreading From People to Chimpanzees
Nearly half of fecal samples from wild chimpanzees contain bacteria that is resistant to a major class of antibiotics people commonly use in the vicinity of Gombe national park in Tanzania, according to new research.
“Our results suggest that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is actually spreading from people to non-human primates by making its way into the local watershed,” says senior author Thomas Gillespie, an associate professor in Emory University’s environmental sciences department and Rollins School of Public Health.
Nearly half of fecal samples from wild chimpanzees contain bacteria that is resistant to a major class of antibiotics people commonly use in the vicinity of Gombe National Park in Tanzania, according to new research.
“Our results suggest that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is actually spreading from people to non-human primates by making its way into the local watershed,” says senior author Thomas Gillespie, an associate professor in Emory University’s environmental sciences department and Rollins School of Public Health.
“People are bathing and washing in the streams, contaminating the water with drug-resistant bacteria where wild chimpanzees and baboons drink.”
“By misusing antibiotics, people can actually harm not only themselves, but also the species they share an environment with.”
It’s well established that infectious disease is the greatest threat to the endangered chimpanzees made famous by the field studies of Jane Goodall at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Now, new research led by scientists at Emory University shows that nearly half of the fecal samples from wild chimpanzees contain bacteria that is resistant to a major class of antibiotics commonly used by people in the vicinity of the park.
“Our results suggest that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is actually spreading from people to non-human primates by making its way into the local watershed,” says Thomas Gillespie, senior author of the study and associate professor in Emory’s Department of Environmental Sciences and Rollins School of Public Health. “People are bathing and washing in the streams, contaminating the water with drug-resistant bacteria where wild chimpanzees and baboons drink.”
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IMAGE: Today, the number of chimpanzees in Gombe National Park are down to about 95. view more
Credit: Thomas Gillespie
It s well established that infectious disease is the greatest threat to the endangered chimpanzees made famous by the field studies of Jane Goodall at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. Now, new research led by scientists at Emory University shows that nearly half of the fecal samples from wild chimpanzees contain bacteria that is resistant to a major class of antibiotics commonly used by people in the vicinity of the park.
The journal
Pathogens published the findings. Our results suggest that antibiotic-resistant bacteria is actually spreading from people to non-human primates by making its way into the local watershed, says Thomas Gillespie, senior author of the study and associate professor in Emory s Department of Environmental Sciences and Rollins School of Public Health. People are bathing and washing in the streams, contaminati