Superbug threat looms over South India’s tribal communities
HYDERABAD: Researchers from the Anthropological Survey of India and the University of Hyderabad said that tribal people who drink water from streams, ponds, and hill channels are increasingly vulnerable to antibiotic-resistant microbes.
The joint study, conducted under the project ‘One Health Lens’ by researchers Afrid Moyilick, Zeen Khan Kaul, P.N. Venugopal, and Dr Nagaraja Ramlu, involved fieldwork in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, and Karnataka in August this year. The team studied the gut health of tribal groups by collecting and analysing 103 stool samples for antimicrobial resistance.
Dr Ramlu told reporters that their findings were recently published in the international journal Total Environment Microbiology.
Natural diet, unsafe water
Despite their natural diets, tribals are exposed to antibiotic-resistant microbes through contaminated water, the researchers said. The study focused on the Irula, Jenu Kuruba, and Kurumba tribes. Researchers stayed with them to observe their food and hygiene practices.
They found that forest streams used for drinking contained trace levels of metals and microbial contamination. Some communities rely on borewell water, yet their immunity is gradually weakening, the study noted.
Call for clean water access
Dr Ramlu said ensuring access to safe drinking water and basic healthcare is essential to protect these tribal groups from the growing threat of antimicrobial resistance.
