Study: Clouds Carry Drug-resistant Bacteria across Distances

Atmospheric monitoring could help pinpoint the sources of drug-resistant bacteria found in clouds, researchers said.GUILLAUME SOUVANT / AFP/File

For a team of Canadian and French researchers, dark clouds on the horizon are potentially ominous not because they signal an approaching storm -- but because they were found in a recent study to carry drug-resistant bacteria over long distances.

"These bacteria usually live on the surface of vegetation like leaves, or in soil," lead author Florent Rossi said in a telephone interview Friday.