THE ESSENTIAL
- Offspring’s immune system weakens when parents are given antibiotics, Danish researchers find
- Between 2000 and 2015, global antibiotic consumption increased by 65%
- In France, one of the most consuming countries in Europe, the resistance of bacteria to antibiotics continues to increase
“Antibiotics are not automatic”. If we know this slogan by heart, we often do not know why these drugs should only be taken when it is really necessary. A study brings a new element of response: published in the journal Environmental Science & Technologyit shows that the simple fact of being exposed to antibiotics can have a negative effect, both on the organisms exposed and on their offspring.
Weakened antibacterial defenses
Specifically, the study shows that the first generation of zebrafish, born to parents exposed to CTCs, a common antibiotic, had weakened anti-bacterial defenses and decreased immune cell counts. This last observation also applies to the third generation. When an organism’s immune system is weakened, it becomes less able to fight off viruses and bacteria and therefore more prone to disease.
“In this study, we examined the offspring of zebrafish that were exposed to CTC. The CTC concentrations in the experiment corresponded to concentrations that wild organisms can encounter in nature. We can see that younger generations, c ‘that is, the offspring, are less effective at fighting bacteria and generally have a weaker immune system than the parental generation,” says the study’s corresponding co-author, eco-expert Elvis Genbo Xu. toxicology and assistant professor in the department of biology at the University of Southern Denmark.
Negative impact of antibiotics
This new study is part of a context where the negative impact of antibiotics on public health and the natural environment is scientifically proven and the situation is worrying.
Since their invention, we have used antibiotics in such large doses and so often that more and more people become resistant since this resistance is directly related to the amount of antibiotics consumed.
Thus, otherwise mundane and harmless infections can become deadly: every year pMore than 700,000 people die from antibiotic resistance – a figure that is expected to reach 10 million by 2050.
Water pollution
In addition, it is difficult not to come into contact with them since they are often present in wastewater, groundwater, surface water and even bottled water.
“The half-life of antibiotics is quite short – they are out of the water again after a few hours or days – but as large quantities are continuously released into our water, we regard antibiotics as water pollution. pseudo persistent”, explains Elvis Genbo Xu, expert in ecotoxicology and assistant professor in the department of biology at the University of Southern Denmark, at the origin of a new study on the adverse effects of antibiotics.