'superbug' MRSA now being found at U.S. wastewater treatment plants

Study: Deadly 'superbug' MRSA now being found at U.S. wastewater treatment plants


(NaturalNews) Using reclaimed water to irrigate lawns, parks, gardens,
and various other types of landscaping is common in many communities
across the U.S., particularly in areas prone to water shortages and
drought. But a new study headed by researchers from the University of Maryland
School of Public Health suggests that this practice may no longer be
safe, as antibiotic-resistant "superbugs" like methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) are now being detected in both influent and effluent water samples at wastewater treatment plants nationwide.

Study author Amy R. Sapkota, an assistant professor at the Maryland Institute for Applied Environmental Health, and her colleagues, some of whom came from the University of Nebraska
Medical Center, collected wastewater samples from two mid-Atlantic and
two Midwestern wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) for their study, and
analyzed them for the presence of superbugs like MRSA. The team drew
samples of influent, which is the raw sewage directly fed into a
treatment plant, as well as effluent, which is partially treated
wastewater that is commonly recycled for irrigation purposes.

Shockingly,
half of all the wastewater samples taken from each of the WWTPs tested
positive for MRSA, while a similar pathogen known as
methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) was detected
in 55 percent of all the collected samples. As far as influent is
concerned, the team detected MRSA in a staggering 83 percent of the
samples taken from all plants, indicating a widespread problem of
superbug contamination that is occurring in more places than just
hospital rooms.

"MRSA
infections acquired outside of hospital settings -- known as
community-acquired MRSA or CA-MRSA -- are on the rise and can be just as
severe as hospital-acquired MRSA," said Sapkota in reference to her
team's findings. "However, we still do not fully understand the
potential environmental sources of MRSA or how people in the community
come in contact with this microorganism."

Communities that recycle water for irrigation, drinking could be creating major public health hazard

But the issue gets even worse. According to the team's findings, which were published recently in the journal Environmental Health Perspectives, MRSA, MSSA, and various other potentially-deadly superbugs can even persist beyond the initial treatment
phases. Effluent samples collected at one of the WWTPs tested positive
for MRSA, which means anywhere the partially-treated water ends up
getting sprayed -- recycled water is often sprayed on sports fields,
grassy knolls, and other common areas frequented by families with
children -- is also being potentially doused with killer bacteria.

"Our findings raise potential public health concerns for wastewater
treatment plant workers and individuals exposed to reclaimed
wastewater," added Rachel Rosenberg Goldstein, one of the study's lead
authors. "Because of increasing use of reclaimed wastewater, further
research is needed to evaluate the risk of exposure to
antibiotic-resistant bacteria in treated wastewater."

source:-
http://www.naturalnews.com/040432_MRSA_wastewater_sewage_treatment.html