Antibiotic-resistant superbugs on Hong Kong MTR trains, study reveals
Researchers on city’s commuter rail network find drug-resistant bacteria are widespread, with biggest concentration on trains to and from China
Bacteria resistant to all the antibiotic drugs commonly used in Hong Kong have been found on the city’s MTR commuter rail network, scientists say.
The biggest concentrations of these bacteria were found on the line between urban Kowloon and the Chinese border - the East Rail line - and the Ma On Shan line that branches off it and serves a big new town in the city’s New Territories.
The bacteria were found on the hands of students who took trains on the various MTR lines.
The findings come amid growing global concern about the spread of superbugs resistant to most forms of antibiotic - drugs used in humans to treat a wide range of illnesses and prevent infection during childbirth, surgery and organ transplants and also used widely in agriculture. China is the world’s biggest user and producer of antibiotics.
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The students, from the School of Biological Sciences at the University of Hong Kong, operating in groups of six, sterilised their hands in station toilets before boarding the trains.
“We got some very funny looks from the MTR staff,” said PhD student Samuel Kang Kang.
