KATHMANDU, Jan 17: The Ministry of Water Supply issued a notice on Wednesday, urging its officials and employees not to doubt the quality of Melamchi water distributed since January 15. Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal inaugurated the redistribution of Melamchi water on Monday morning.
Antibiotic resistant bacteria-associated infections are responsible for more than 1.2 million annual deaths worldwide. In low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), the consumption of antibiotics for human and veterinary uses is not regulated effectively. Overused and misused antibiotics can end up in aquatic environments, which may act as a conduit for antibiotic resistance dissemination. However, data on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance determinants in aquatic environments are still limited for LMICs. In this study, we evaluated the prevalence and concentration of antibiotic resistance genes in different drinking and environmental water sources collected from the Kathmandu Valley, Nepal using droplet digital PCR to understand the current situation of ARG contamination. River water and shallow dug well water were the most contaminated with ARGs. Almost all samples contained sul1 (95%), and intI1 and tet(A) were detected in 83% and 60% of the samples, respectively. Maximum ARG co