“…Frontiers in Microbiology | www.frontiersin.org (Gullberg et al, 2014;Dong et al, 2021). In our review, only one study sampled a potential contamination source to identify the origin of AMR find in gulls, showing that isolates from wastewater and gulls had the same macrorestriction profiles (Masarikova et al, 2016).…”
The role of wildlife with long-range dispersal such as gulls in the global dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across natural and anthropogenic aquatic environments remains poorly understood. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been detected in resident and migratory gulls worldwide for more than a decade, suggesting gulls as either sentinels of AMR pollution from anthropogenic sources or independent reservoirs that could maintain and disperse AMR across aquatic environments. However, confirming either of these roles remains challenging and incomplete. In this review, we present current knowledge on the geographic regions where AMR has been detected in gulls, the molecular characterization of resistance genes, and the evidence supporting the capacity of gulls to disperse AMR across regions or countries. We identify several limitations of current research to assess the role of gulls in the spread of AMR including most studies not identifying the source of AMR, few studies comparing bacteria isolated in gulls with other wild or domestic species, and almost no study performing longitudinal sampling over a large period of time to assess the maintenance and dispersion of AMR by gulls within and across regions. We suggest future research required to confirm the role of gulls in the global dispersion of AMR including the standardization of sampling protocols, longitudinal sampling using advanced satellite tracking, and whole-genome sequencing typing. Finally, we discuss the public health implications of the spread of AMR by gulls and potential solutions to limit its spread in aquatic environments.
“…Frontiers in Microbiology | www.frontiersin.org (Gullberg et al, 2014;Dong et al, 2021). In our review, only one study sampled a potential contamination source to identify the origin of AMR find in gulls, showing that isolates from wastewater and gulls had the same macrorestriction profiles (Masarikova et al, 2016).…”
The role of wildlife with long-range dispersal such as gulls in the global dissemination of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) across natural and anthropogenic aquatic environments remains poorly understood. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria have been detected in resident and migratory gulls worldwide for more than a decade, suggesting gulls as either sentinels of AMR pollution from anthropogenic sources or independent reservoirs that could maintain and disperse AMR across aquatic environments. However, confirming either of these roles remains challenging and incomplete. In this review, we present current knowledge on the geographic regions where AMR has been detected in gulls, the molecular characterization of resistance genes, and the evidence supporting the capacity of gulls to disperse AMR across regions or countries. We identify several limitations of current research to assess the role of gulls in the spread of AMR including most studies not identifying the source of AMR, few studies comparing bacteria isolated in gulls with other wild or domestic species, and almost no study performing longitudinal sampling over a large period of time to assess the maintenance and dispersion of AMR by gulls within and across regions. We suggest future research required to confirm the role of gulls in the global dispersion of AMR including the standardization of sampling protocols, longitudinal sampling using advanced satellite tracking, and whole-genome sequencing typing. Finally, we discuss the public health implications of the spread of AMR by gulls and potential solutions to limit its spread in aquatic environments.
“…Another source could be direct littering on the waterways especially for the canals used for transportation purposes. The relocation of litter into another environment points to the potential impact that will be imposed on aquatic life since most of the mask litter ends up as microplastic in the oceans ( Akhbarizadeh et al, 2021 ; Dong et al, 2021 ). Fig.…”
Face mask usage is one of the preventive measures encouraged worldwide to limit the transmission of the SARS-Cov-2 pandemic. Hence, production and mass use of face masks is on the rise due to the pandemic as well as government rules that mandate citizens to wear face masks. However, the improper disposal of face masks has been polluting the environment with enormous hazardous waste. In this study, a face mask littering assessment in an urbanized environment, Bangkok, was carried out. Three streets in the city were selected and observed for face mask littering for 5 h per day for 42 days. Moreover, a questionnaire from 605 participants was recorded to determine mask handling and disposal practices. The study found a total of 170 single-use face masks within a 13.30 km path. Furthermore, the highest (40) and lowest (17) cumulative litter were recorded on Sunday and Monday, respectively. Buffer analysis at 300 m showed 47% of mask litter was found within five mass transit stations, while 15% are within a single street market. Of 605 respondents, 82.15% used a single-use face mask. Surprisingly, most of them (70.58%) disposed of used face masks in regular bins along with their household waste. The results highlight three policy implications to tackle the growing problem: raising awareness, regulation, and provision of bins designed for used face masks in strategic places and supporting innovations and research for eco-friendly face masks.
“…It has been reported that lime application to digestate can disintegrate plastics into microplastics [ 43 , 45 ]. The land application of digestate is considered one of the major routes for transmitting antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) to the environment [ 46 ], while microplastics can adsorb antibiotics and also serve as potential carriers for ARGs [ 47 , 48 ]. Thus, microplastics released from face masks in digestate may amplify the transmission of ARGs to our ecosystem via the land application.…”
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