PANAJI
The Goa State Biodiversity Board (GSBB) will seek further details from the National Institute of Oceanography (NIO) on the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria at State’s recreational beaches, with a view to exploring conservation measures and preparing an inventory of such microorganisms found in the State.
Speaking to The Goan, Board Member Secretary Pradeep Sarmokadam said the Board needs to be informed about studies involving potentially sensitive public health and environmental concerns, particularly as scientific understanding of bacteria and viruses and their properties continues to evolve.
“Biodiversity Board should be informed about this because there are thousands of bacteria and viruses, and their properties are being discovered every day,” Sarmokadam said.
He said the Board would contact NIO to obtain more details about the study, including whether the samples were collected from polluted or relatively pristine locations, to better understand the findings and assess the scope for conservation.
“All this needs to be understood. We will try to get further details from NIO to explore the possibility of conservation,” he said.
Sarmokadam said the Board was also working towards preparing an inventory of microorganisms with specific properties, including resistance to drugs and diesel, as part of the compilation of Goa’s State Action Plan for Climate Change.
“An inventory needs to be prepared, and we are working on that. We need to know how many drug-resistant, diesel-resistant and other such microorganisms we have. We have started this work as part of the compilation of our Goa State Action Plan for Climate Change,” he said.
The proposed follow-up comes after an NIO study, published on October 14, found that water quality at several major recreational beaches in Goa deteriorates sharply during the monsoon, while multidrug-resistant bacteria remain present across the beaches during both monsoon and non-monsoon seasons.
