JERUSALEM, July 7 (Xinhua) -- Israeli marine researchers have found that 75 percent of the bacteria in sea turtles off the country's Mediterranean coast are resistant to antibiotics, raising concerns for both marine life and humans, the University of Haifa and the Israel Nature and Parks Authority said in a joint study published on Monday.
In the new study, published on Total Environment Microbiology, the researchers collected samples from wounded green and brown sea turtles rescued along Israel's western shoreline.
The turtles had been harmed by fishing gear, marine debris, and winter storms and were treated at a rescue center in the coastal village of Mikhmoret.
Samples from the turtles' skin, digestive systems, and respiratory tracts revealed 93 types of bacteria.
Three out of four were resistant to multiple antibiotics. Around 95 percent were resistant to cefazolin, 50 percent to ampicillin, and 45 percent to amoxicillin clavulanate. All of these are commonly used antibiotics in human medicine.
Some of the bacteria can cause illness in marine animals and may also infect humans, the researchers said.
They noted that sea turtles are natural indicators of ocean health, saying that their long lives, wide migrations, and frequent visits to coastal zones expose them to pollution from human activities.
The presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in turtles suggests the marine environment is being contaminated by waste from land, according to the team.
The study highlights the risk that resistant bacteria in the sea could spread to humans through food, with the researchers calling for better monitoring of marine pollution and more action to reduce antibiotic resistance. ■
