Studies of the Impact of Occupational Exposure of Pharmaceutical Workers on the Development of Antimicrobial Drug Resistance

OBJECTIVES: Pharmaceutical workers involved with the production of antimicrobial drugs are exposed to various antimicrobial chemicals in different steps of manufacturing such as grinding, sieving, compression, granulation, mixing and filling. These exposures may lead to the development of multidrug resistance (MDR) in bacteria. Scientific reports on the occupational health hazard of pharmaceutical workers involved in manufacturing antibiotics are scarce. The present study aimed to compare the degree of bacterial resistance in pharmaceutical workers in Bangladesh to that of individuals not involved in the pharmaceutical field. METHODS: Twenty male workers from five local pharmaceutical companies and twenty male subjects not involved in the pharmaceutical field (non-pharmaceutical subjects) were randomly selected. Nasal fluid, mucus/cough and stool specimens were collected from each subject…