The spread of antibiotic-resistance to one of the most
pristine locations in Asia is linked to the annual human pilgrimages to the
region, new research has shown.
Experts from Newcastle University, UK, and the Indian
Institute of Technology in Delhi (IIT-Delhi), sampled water and sediments at
seven sites along the Upper Ganges River, in the foothills of the Himalayas.
They found that in May and June, when hundreds of thousands
of visitors travel to Rishikesh and Haridwar to visit sacred sites, levels of
resistance genes that lead to "superbugs" were found to be about 60
times greater than other times of the year.