We know Beijing’s smog is bad for us on a whole host of levels, but it turns out that it might also carry bacterial genes that can lead to antibiotic resistance, South China Morning Post reports. The study’s findings have many concerned that exposure to Beijing’s notorious smog might cause resistance to even the strongest of antibiotics.
A DNA study was conducted by researchers from the University of Gothenburg in Sweden. Researchers analyzed 864 human, animal and environmental DNA samples taken from around the world. The samples of Beijing smog were collected during a five-day stretch of bad air in January 2013.
According to their findings, which were published in the journal Microbiome, Beijing’s smoggy air contained the highest amount of genes that were either identical to or very similar to antibiotic resistance genes (ARG).
The study found that Beijing’s polluted air carried 64.4 types of ARG. Metagenomes containing numerous carbapenem-resistant genes were also found in Beijing’s air samples. Carbapenems are the types of very strong antibiotics used to treat bacterial infections, mainly in hospitalized patients.
One thing that the report did not state is whether or not the bacteria were alive in Beijing's air, something that would be much more harmful than dead bacteria. Though the researchers can speculate that it is likely that both live and dead bacteria are in Beijing’s air, the evidence is inconclusive.
Although researchers did find evidence of ARGs in Beijing’s smoggy air, they have stated that a larger-scale study would need to be conducted in order to get a more accurate understanding of the impact of ARGs in Beijing’s smog.
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