A review of the emergence of antibiotic resistance in bioaerosols and its monitoring methods

Abstract

Despite significant public health concerns regarding infectious diseases in air environments, potentially harmful microbiological indicators, such as antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in bioaerosols, have not received significant attention. Traditionally, bioaerosol studies have focused on the characterization of microbial communities; however, a more serious problem has recently arisen due to the presence of ARGs in bioaerosols, leading to an increased prevalence of horizontal gene transfer (HGT). This constitutes a process by which bacteria transfer genes to other environmental media and consequently cause infectious disease. Antibiotic resistance in water and soil environments has been extensively investigated in the past few years by applying advanced molecular and biotechnological methods. However, ARGs in bioaerosols have not received much attention. In addition, ARG and HGT profiling in air environments is greatly limited in field studies due to the absence of suitable methodological approaches. Therefore, this study comprehensively describes recent findings from published studies and some of the appropriate molecular and biotechnological methods for monitoring antibiotic resistance in bioaerosols. In addition, this review discusses the main knowledge gaps regarding current methodological issues and future research directions.

Sensitivity of microbiota of bioaerosol and surfaces of boxes for holding animals in veterinary clinics to antimicrobial drugs

“…(Horiuk et al, 2018;Morgado-Gamero et al, 2021). Поширення збудників захворювання у клініках можливе через біоаерозольсукупність мертвих та живих мікроорганізмів, шерсті, клітин епітелію, завислих в повітрі тощо (Tsay et al, 2020;Lee & Yoo, 2022). Отже, у боксах з перетримування хворих тварин за неефективної дезінфекції або інтенсивного використання приміщень створюються сприятливі умови для формування стійкої мікрофлори.…”

Clinically Relevant β-Lactam Resistance Genes in Wastewater Treatment Plants

“…The study of the carriage of ESBL-producing Enterobacterales in WWTP workers and surrounding residents shows that these groups are much more like to acquire bacteria harboring the ESBL mechanism [ 25 ], thus confirming the direct influence of WWTPs on spreading ARGs into air. The contribution of WWTPs’ bioaerosols in ARGs and ARB propagation into air and different environments is commonly investigated [ 143 , 144 , 145 , 146 ]. For example, Gaviria-Figueroa et al studied bioaerosol samples collected downwind from sludge aeration tanks and showed a significant presence of clinically relevant class A β-lactamases, along with other classes of these enzymes and different antibiotic groups [ 147 ].…”

Research progress on distribution and exposure risk of microbial aerosols in animal houses

“…They were found to play a vital role in the pathogen transmission of respiratory diseases (20)(21)(22)(23). According to the different main components of microbial aerosols, they can be divided into bacterial aerosols, fungal aerosols, and virus aerosols (24), of which bacterial and fungal aerosols account for a relatively large proportion (25). For many years, the monitoring of microbial aerosol concentrations and distributions in indoors environment and atmospheric environment has always been an important topic for scholars.…”