Tag Archives: ann arbor waste water treatment

Careless Disposal of Antibiotics Can Create Aquatic Superbugs

ANN ARBOR, Mich.—A wastewater treatment plant can provide the perfect mating ground for carelessly disposed of antibiotics to form superbugs that are eventually discharged into streams and lakes, says a University of Michigan researcher.

It’s not the fault of the wastewater treatment plants, says Chuanwu Xi, assistant professor at the U-M School of Public Health. His research team sampled water at five sites in and near Ann Arbor’s Waste Water Treatment Plant and found that the water contained the superbug Acinetobacter, a multidrug-resistant bacterium. The results were first reported by Xi’s group in 2009, and the research is ongoing. (more…)

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