Can Chloroquine induce resistance to antibiotics??

Malaria is taking several lives every year. Chloroquine is the cheapest and most widely used drug to cure malaria. The latest research done by the Lakeridge Health Centre in Oshawa, canada, reveals that chloroquine use is associated with the risk of resistance to antibiotics. People living in remote villages in Guyana, were studied under the research. These people were specially chosen to study the antibiotics resistance because these people were never exposed to antibiotics. Hence the researchers expected zero resistance level in these people. But the study showed that 4.8 percent people under the study had high antibiotic resistance level. These people had strains of E. coli that were resistant to the antibiotic ciprofloxacin.
Dr. Michael Silverman of Lakeridge Health Centre in Oshawa, Ontario said that the loss of effect of these commonly used antibiotics could give a death blow to public health.
The researchers are still doubtful whether high resistance level is related to cholroquine alone. The researchers added that the only possible solution to fight this complicated problem is to increase the efforts to prevent malaria.

Dr. A.J. Tamhankar comments-----

1. The % of people with resistance in the study is very small.
2. But if it is true that this population was really not subjected to antibiotic use earlier, then it gives FEW conjectures. A. there could always be a segment of population everywhere that could be resistant to any external agent used against them. B. The researchers might have carried resistant E.coli on them which got transmitted to these people in study. C. It could be an example to show that RESISTANCE DOESNOT RECOGNISE ANY BOUNDRIES.
3. Let us hope this is not true for India!!