Sludge to land questioned in Commons debate on antimicrobial resistance

The public health risks relating to antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in rivers and seas were debated by MPs last week.

Liberal Democrat MP Richard Foord questioned the practice of spreading sludge on land “given that we think traces of antibiotic-resistant material might have ended up in the sea,” during a wide-ranging debate on antimicrobial resistance. He cited a Radio 4 documentary, Swimming in superbugs, in which Dr Anne Leonard of the University of Exeter Medical School reported project findings that people who use the sea are three times more likely to have antibiotic-resistant bacteria in their gut.

Separately, Labour MP Neil Coyle asked Defra what steps the department is taking to monitor the presence and spread of antibiotic-resistant and antimicrobial-resistant organisms that are hazardous to human health in rivers, and whether the Cabinet discusses the impact of such waterborne bacteria on public health.

Water minister Robbie Moore told Coyle trials to detect and quantify antibiotic-resistant bacteria are underway in three river catchments in England, to provide example data on their presence and prevalence. The results are expected to be published this summer.

Health minister Maria Caulfield said the government’s next five-year antimicrobial resistance national action plan will be published later this year.

Antimicrobial resistance occurs when bacteria, viruses, fungi and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines. Conservative MP Will Quince, who moved the debate, reported that the OECD found one in five infections is now resistant to antibiotics, with the potential for that rate to double by 2035.