Antibiotic resistance discovered in Artic birds, scientist warn

Swedish scientists have discovered drug-resistant bacteria in wild birds in the high Arctic, far from any humans, suggesting that antibiotic resistance is now widespread in nature.

Research results showed samples of E-coli bacteria were found in 97 birds in north-eastern Siberia, northern Alaska and northern Greenland in 2005.

Analyses of the bacteria revealed resistance to 14 of 17 drugs exposed to the samples. Eight of the birds carried drug-resistant bacteria and four had bacteria resistant to four or more drugs. According to Bjoern Olsen, of Uppsala University, the samples were taken from birds living far out on the tundra that had no contact with people.