Impact of Anthropogenic Activities on the Dissemination of ARGs in the Environment—A Review

Małgorzata Czatzkowska, Izabela Wolak, Monika Harnisz and Ewa Korzeniewska ()
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Małgorzata Czatzkowska: Department of Water Protection Engineering and Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 1, 10-720 Olsztyn, Poland
Izabela Wolak: Department of Water Protection Engineering and Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 1, 10-720 Olsztyn, Poland
Monika Harnisz: Department of Water Protection Engineering and Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 1, 10-720 Olsztyn, Poland
Ewa Korzeniewska: Department of Water Protection Engineering and Environmental Microbiology, Faculty of Geoengineering, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Prawocheńskiego 1, 10-720 Olsztyn, Poland

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 19, 1-29

Abstract: Over the past few decades, due to the excessive consumption of drugs in human and veterinary medicine, the antimicrobial resistance (AR) of microorganisms has risen considerably across the world, and this trend is predicted to intensify. Many worrying research results indicate the occurrence of pools of AR, both directly related to human activity and environmental factors. The increase of AR in the natural environment is mainly associated with the anthropogenic activity. The dissemination of AR is significantly stimulated by the operation of municipal facilities, such as wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) or landfills, as well as biogas plants, agriculture and farming practices, including animal production and land application of manure. These activities entail a risk to public health by spreading bacteria resistant to antimicrobial products (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). Furthermore, subinhibitory concentrations of antimicrobial substances additionally predispose microbial consortia and resistomes to changes in particular environments that are permeated by these micropollutants. The current state of knowledge on the fate of ARGs, their dissemination and the complexity of the AR phenomenon in relation to anthropogenic activity is inadequate. This review summarizes the state-of-the-art knowledge on AR in the environment, in particular focusing on AR spread in an anthropogenically altered environment and related environmental consequences.

Keywords: antibiotics; antimicrobial resistance; anthropogenic pressure; wastewater; sewage sludge; landfills; biogas plants; animal husbandry; agriculture (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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