Image of a Bottlenose dolphin By NASA via Wikimedia Commons
Bottlenose dolphins and humans have a lot in common…at least when it comes to developing resistance to antibiotics.
After looking at over 700 pathogens collected from 171 wild Bottlenose dolphins captured in the Indian River Lagoon in Florida, researchers discovered that 88.2% of the pathogens were resistant to at least one antibiotic. The pathogens were especially resistant to erythromycin (91.6%) and ampicillin (77.3%). The animals were likely exposed to antibiotics as a result of human activities along the coast. This level of resistance is quite similar to the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance observed in people. Not only was antibiotic resistance increased since 2003, prevalence of specific pathogens had also increased and were higher than any other animals recorded.
Source:
Florida Atlantic University
Categories: Ocean Life, Urbanization
Tags: antibiotic, antibiotic resistance, dolphin, infection, pathogen
Life Lines by Dr. Dolittle 
