UV Disinfection Could Minimize Antimicrobial Resistance, Says Study

Conventional wastewater disinfection using chlorine could facilitate the spread of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, and treating some types of wastewater with UV light instead could be part of the solution, according to a recent study at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology’s Water Desalination and Reuse Center. The findings were recently published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology. Bacteria are rapidly developing mechanisms to evade the effects of antimicrobial drugs, and this resistance is increasingly threatening public health. Pharmaceutical compounds and resistant bacteria that reach municipal and agricultural wastewater are partially to blame. Interestingly, antimicrobial resistance is found to be