Antibiotic resistance – one of the biggest threats to global health – could be on the rise in part because of increased air pollution, a new study has warned.
Researchers in China have found a global correlation between the a pollutant called PM2.5 in the air and cases of bacteria becoming immune to antibiotic drugs.
Although they’re not certain what’s causing the link, they speculate that antibiotic resistant bacteria are being transported on PM2.5 carried by the air.
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A growing number of Americans are building immunity to antibiotics, which can make them more vulnerable to illnesses and infections.
There are about 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections per year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), which cause at least 35,000 annual deaths.
And those numbers are likely an understatement, according to Dr. Marc Siegel, a professor of medicine at NYU Langone Medical Center and a Fox News medical contributor.
WHY ANTIBIOTICS MAY NOT HELP PATIENTS SURVIVE
