Lobby Group Links Drug-Resistance to Water Near Indian Plants

Oct. 19, 2016

Sustainability lobby group Changing Markets has published a report that reveals the presence of lethal drug-resistant bacteria in water found near multiple production sites in India.

According to the report, analysis of water samples found high levels of drug-resistant bacteria at sites in three Indian cities: Hyderabad, New Delhi and Chennai.

Out of 34 sites tested, 16 were found to be harboring bacteria resistant to antibiotics. At four of the sites, resistance to three major classes of antibiotics was detected, including last resort antibiotics -- those used to treat infections that fail to respond to all other medicines.

The report called out Hyderabad-based Aurobindo Pharma as one of the worst offenders, saying the drugmaker is "a recidivist polluter at its own production sites in India" who "imports the raw materials used for making antibiotics from dirty factories in China."

Read the report here