Antibiotic resistance, which occurs when disease-causing microorganisms or pathogens no longer respond to the drugs commonly used to treat them, is a global public health crisis. Since the advent of the first antibiotics, bacteria have been able to evolve resistance to them faster than we have been able to manufacture/discover them. Previously, antibiotic resistant infections were only a risk in healthcare settings, but have become more prevalent in regular communities. Furthermore, antibiotic resistance, in the form of antibiotic resistant genes and resistant bacteria, have been found in environmental compartments across the globe, likely due to the misuse of antibiotics in various industries. The pathways leading to antibiotic resistance in the environment have been hypothesized, but are lacking physical evidence. Similarly, widespread surveys that quantify resistance in the environment have not been conducted. Previous studies suggest that anthropogenic factors such as wastewater effluent, agricultural runoff, and heavy metal contamination contribute to the presence of antibiotic resistance in the environment. Evaluating human health risk from antibiotic resistant bacteria transmitted via the environment is a pivotal step in the larger issue of antibiotic resistance. To properly understand the potential threat environmental antibiotic resistance might be to individuals, we must investigate mechanisms of dissemination into the environment, and measure both resistant bacteria and genes to estimate human health risk.

The goals of this project are (i) to develop a comprehensive surveillance framework to track hotspots of antibiotic resistance in water environments and (ii) to better understand and predict health risks posed by the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment.

http://sphtmmagazine.tulane.edu/2021/03/17/searching-for-resistant-bacteria-living-in-nature/