Breeding ground for superbugs? Hong Kong river’s unsafe antibiotic levels
- Kai Tak River the ninth most antibiotic-filled in global study of pharmaceutical contamination
- Experts warn of risk the medicines could help generate drug-resistant bacteria
A Hong Kong river has antibiotics exceeding safe levels by up to five times, a global study has found, with researchers raising concerns that it could contribute to the growing problem of superbugs.
Kai Tak River, in the heart of a key redevelopment area in east Kowloon and flowing into the Victoria Harbour, was the ninth most antibiotic-polluted in the study of pharmaceutical contamination in streams, which covered 165 rivers in 72 countries.
Experts urged more monitoring, saying there was a risk the life-saving medicines could help generate antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the long term and disrupt the ecological balance in streams.
The research, the first to map the scale of such contamination in the world’s rivers, was conducted by the department of environment and geography at the University of York, in Britain. It examined urban waterways for 61 kinds of drug, of which 14 were commonly used antibiotics.
In Hong Kong, nine antibiotics were found in Kai Tak River and four in Tai Po’s Lam Tsuen River, from samples taken last year, data provided to the Post showed.
