INTERNATIONAL POLAR YEAR DISPATCHES Dissemination of Multidrug- Resistant Bacteria into the Arctic

• Main Authors: Maria Sjölund, Jonas Bonnedahl, Jorge Hern, Stina Bengtsson, Gunilla Cederbrant, Jarone Pinhassi
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Arctic birds; International Polar Year; Beringia
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.306.7286; http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/14/1/pdfs/07-0704.pdf

We show that Escherichia coli isolates originating from Arctic birds carry antimicrobial drug resistance determinants. This fi nding implies that dissemination of drug-resistant bacteria is worldwide. Resistance genes can be found even in a region where no selection pressure for resistance development exists. Bacteria display a unique ability to adapt to changes in their environment and to develop mechanisms to protect themselves against toxic compounds. Their ability to develop resistance mechanisms to antimicrobial drugs has assumed catastrophic proportions, rendering more and more infections difficult or impossible to treat (1). Most reports suggest that the main force behind emergence of drug resistance is the use and misuse of antimicrobial drugs during the past few decades, but there is also evidence for the epidemic spread of drug-resistant bacteria as a contributing factor (2). The Study We investigated bacteria from a region considered to be one of the last outposts of wilderness, the Arctic, with the belief that in this region human influence on the ecology of antimicrobial resistance would be minimal. Antimicrobial drug resistance in Escherichia coli isolated on site from fecal or cloacal swabs of Arctic birds was studied. During the Beringia expedition organized by the