Antibiotic Resistance Genes in the Human-Impacted Environment: A One Health Perspective

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance and its environmental component is gaining more attention as part of combating the growing healthcare crisis. The One-Health framework, promulgated by many global health agencies, recognizes that antimicrobial resistance is a truly inter-domain problem in which human health, animal agriculture and the environment are the core and interrelated components. This prospectus presents the status and issues relevant to the environmental component of antibiotic resistance, namely the needs for advancing surveillance methodology: the environmental reservoirs and sources of resistance, namely urban wastewater treatment plants, aquaculture production systems, soil receiving manures and biosolids and the atmosphere which includes longer range dispersal. Much recent work has been done describing antibiotic resistance genes in various environments; now quantitative, mechanistic and hypothesis driven studies are needed to identify practices that reduce real risk and maintain effectiveness of our current antibiotics as long as possible. Advanced deployable detection methods for antibiotic resistance in diverse environmental samples are needed to provide the surveillance information to identify risk and define barriers that can reduce risk. Also needed are practices that reduce antibiotic use and thereby reduce selection for resistances, as well as practices that limit dispersal or destroy antibiotic resistant bacteria or their resistance genes that are feasible for these varied environmental domains.

Prevalence and Traits of Mobile Colistin Resistance Gene Harbouring Isolates from Different Ecosystems in Africa

“…The environment is the receptacle of anthropogenic and agricultural wastes laden with antimicrobial-resistant organisms. It is also established that the environment constitutes a substantial source for the evolution of antimicrobial-resistant organisms [ 64 ]. Thus, other ecosystems interface with the environment from/to where resistant organisms can be easily acquired or deposited.…”

Antibiotic resistome in the livestock and aquaculture industries: Status and solutions

“…The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) estimated that almost 80 percent of the total antibiotics consumed in the United States was used for farm animals, and $83% of feedlots administered antibiotics for prophylaxis or growth promotion (McEwen & Fedorka-Cray, 2002). Hence, more public attention to antibiotic usage in animals and its potential risks are required to respond to antibiotic resistance issue under One Health framework (Hernando-Amado et al, 2019;Tiedje et al, 2019).…”

Mobility of β-Lactam Resistance Under Bacterial Co-infection and Ampicillin Treatment in a Mouse Model

“…Key actions planned include a reduction in antimicrobial use in human medicine and in agriculture, and improved water sanitation and hygiene ( Pruden et al, 2013 ). These coordinated actions will reduce the pressure for resistance selection across the One Health continuum, and reduce transmission to humans via the environment and via food consumption ( Graham et al, 2014 ; Berendonk et al, 2015 ; Holmes et al, 2016 ; Tiedje et al, 2019 ; Wang et al, 2019 ).…”