HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, Sept. 23, 2016 (HealthDay News) — The thousands of miles of aging, corroding pipes that bring water to Americans each day may be home to dangerous drug-resistant bacteria, a new report warns.
These harmful bacteria include legionella, which causes Legionnaires’ disease; pseudomonas, which can trigger pneumonia; and mycobacteria, which can cause tuberculosis and other illnesses, the researchers said.
While these bacteria thrive in many environments, they “can [also] live in the pipes; they can survive on tiny amounts of nutrients found in water,” explained lead researcher Dr. Jeffrey Griffiths, a professor of public health and medicine at Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston.
Overall, his team’s analysis of 100 million Medicare records found that between 1991 and 2006, more than 617,000 older Americans were hospitalized after falling ill from infection with these three common bacteria — which are often found in plumbing.
Health-care costs for related illnesses totaled $9 billion in Medicare payments — an average of $600 million a year, Griffiths’ group said. Conditions like pneumonia, tuberculosis and Legionnaires’ disease typically affect the elderly and people with compromised immune systems, experts say.
Many of the bacteria that triggered these cases may already be resistant to one or more antibiotics, as was seen in 1 percent to 2 percent of hospitalizations. Not only are antibiotic-resistant bacteria much more dangerous for patients, but treating such cases boosts costs by 10 percent to 40 percent, Griffiths said. He was former chair of the Drinking Water Committee for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Science Advisory Board.
The study comes as the U.S. Senate approved a $9 billion bill on Sept. 15 known as the Water Resources Development Act. According to The New York Times, the bill would earmark funds to repair ports, dams, levees and other water infrastructure in 17 states. However, it’s unclear if the bill will pass the House of Representatives, the Times said.
Still, isn’t the water from most public water systems already rigorously treated to cut down on germs?
Yes, Griffiths’ team said, but most of that happens at water treatment plants that are located far from the typical home.
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