Discovery of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in clouds

Weather of Arabia - We usually welcome dark clouds on the grounds that they carry rain to the region, but a new French-Canadian study discovered that clouds also carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria that were drawn by the wind to the clouds for very long distances, sometimes.

"These bacteria usually live on leaves or in the soil," said lead study author Florent Rossi, according to Agence France-Presse.

"We discovered that the wind carried them to the atmosphere, and that they can travel long distances and cross the globe at high altitudes thanks to the clouds," the agency quoted a Russian as saying.

A number of researchers at the University of Laval in Quebec and the University of Clermont Auvergne had taken samples using high-speed "vacuum cleaners" from clouds formed over the summit of an extinct volcano in central France called Puy de Dome between September 2019 and October 2021.

From a research station located at an altitude of 1465 meters, the scientists analyzed these samples in search of antibiotic resistance genes.

They found that the clouds contained between 330 and more than 33,000 bacteria per milliliter of water, with an average of about 8,000 bacteria per milliliter. A total of 29 subtypes of antibiotic resistance genes were identified in bacteria.

And with the widespread use of antibiotics in health care and the agricultural field, this type of bacteria represents a "major health challenge at the global level," according to the study.

The global health authorities have pointed out several times to the dangers of this bacteria, which increasingly complicates the treatment of some types of diseases.

However, the study , which was published in the March issue of the journal "Science of the Total Environment", did not make any conclusions about the potential health effects recorded for the spread of bacteria carrying antibiotic-resistant genes in the atmosphere, noting that only 5 to 50% of these organisms She may be alive and potentially active.

"The atmosphere is very harsh on bacteria," Rossi said, adding that most of the bacteria we detected were environmental "and unlikely to be harmful to humans."

However, monitoring the atmosphere can help identify sources of drug-resistant bacteria — similar to wastewater tests for COVID-19 and other pathogens — "in order to limit their spread," he said.

Also read: If the clouds are white, why do they turn dark gray before it rains?