Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wild cockles, mussels and watercress

+Practice

In print

Research

Antibiotic-resistant bacteria in wild cockles, mussels and watercress

2 August 2023

The Conversation

By Jack Heinemann and Sophie Joy van Hamelsveld

Wednesday 2 August 2023, 12:13 AM

[Image: Matt Seymour on Unsplash]

Traditional harvesting sites, or mahinga kai, continue to be used throughout New Zealand to provide food and to share skills and cultural practices between families and generations. But our new research shows that wild foods concentrate antibiotic-resistant bacteria and could put people at risk.¹

While water is regularly tested at recreational sites for potential pathogens, wild-harvested foods are commonly overlooked as a source of exposure to

Infectious Disease

Lifestyle

References

1. van Hamelsveld S, Kurenbach B, Paull DJ, et al. Indigenous food sources as vectors of Escherichia coli and antibiotic resistance. Environ Pollut 2023;334:122155.

2. World Health Organization. Antibiotic resistance. 31 July 2020.

3. Land Air Water Aotearoa. Can I swim here?

4. Pattis I, Weaver L, Burgess S, et al. Antimicrobial resistance in New Zealand – a One Health perspective. Antibiotics (Basel) 2022;11(6):778.

How to Treat

+How to treat

Polypharmacy

For older people and frail people, the long-term benefit of medicines reduces and the potential for harm from adverse effects increases. When the benefit–risk balance changes in this way, medicine review and optimisation are important to simplify the therapeutic regimen, reduce inappropriate medicines and minimise risks. In this article, pharmacist prescriber Linda Bryant uses two case studies to illustrate important considerations during medicine reviews

Wednesday 28 May 2025, 12:50 AM