A SCIENTIST has joined world experts to draw up an action plan to tackle antibiotic-resistant bacteria transmitted by water.
More than 700,000 people worldwide die every year from infections and the threat is increasing.
A UK Government report warns that by 2050, ten million people worldwide will be suffering from life- threatening infections from these bacteria if the issue is not dealt with urgently.
University of Brighton microbial ecology professor Huw Taylor previously led an international team that advised the World Health Organisation (WHO) on how to address the potential spread of ebola through the water cycle through improved emergency sanitation measures.
He is now lending his expertise to these new efforts.
Antimicrobial resistance arises in many sectors, for example, through the use of antibiotics in meat production and by the often unnecessary prescription of antibiotics to humans.
The water cycle then plays a role in the spread of resistance through the discharge of organisms, genes and residues.
This potentially leads to human exposure through drinking, swimming and crop irrigation.
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