This story originally appeared in The Guardian and is part of the Climate Desk collaboration.
Urban ducks and crows might offer us a connection to nature, but scientists have found wild birds that live near humans are more likely to harbor bacteria resistant to important antibiotics.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is largely caused by the overuse of drugs such as antibiotics among humans and livestock.
The issue is of serious concern: According to data for 2019, about 4.95 million deaths globally were associated with bacterial AMR, including 1.27 million directly caused by such resistance.
Researchers say species of wild birds that tend to turn up in urban settings are reservoirs for bacteria with the