A study carried out at university of Galway has reveals swans in urban areas have high rates of drug resistant "superbugs".
It looked at swans in the Greater Dublin and Co. Kildare area.
The findings of the Wild AMR study are simple.
Swans in these areas often carry antimicrobial resistant bacteria in their guts, and it's very similar to those that cause difficult to treat infections in people.
Of the samples taken from 17 swans, 11 were positive for one or more so-called "superbugs", with 35 strains detected overall.
The most common type is multi-drug resistant E.Coli and some strains are resistant to last-resort antibiotics.
Researchers say it's likely the high rates of detection in these urban areas is linked with human pollution of their habitat, such as treated and untreated wastewater.
They add the findings suggest swans may be an under-recognised pathway for the spread of drug-resistant bacteria.
