Understanding the Interplay between Antimicrobial Resistance, Microplastics and Xenobiotic Contaminants: A Leap towards One Health?

Federica Piergiacomo, Lorenzo Brusetti and Leonardo Pagani ()
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Federica Piergiacomo: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Piazza Università 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Lorenzo Brusetti: Faculty of Science and Technology, Free University of Bolzano-Bozen, Piazza Università 1, 39100 Bolzano, Italy
Leonardo Pagani: Antimicrobial Stewardship Project, Provincial Hospital of Bolzano (SABES-ASDAA), Lehrkrankenhaus der Paracelsus Medizinischen Privatuniversität, 39100 Bolzano, Italy

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 20, issue 1, 1-13

Abstract: According to the World Health Organization, the two major public health threats in the twenty-first century are antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistant genes. The reason for the global prevalence and the constant increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is owed to the steady rise in overall antimicrobial consumption in several medical, domestic, agricultural, industrial, and veterinary applications, with consequent environmental release. These antibiotic residues may directly contaminate terrestrial and aquatic environments in which antibiotic-resistance genes are also present. Reports suggest that metal contamination is one of the main drivers of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Moreover, the abundance of antibiotic-resistance genes is directly connected to the predominance of metal concentrations in the environment. In addition, microplastics have become a threat as emerging contaminants because of their ubiquitous presence, bio-inertness, toughness, danger to aquatic life, and human health implications. In the environment, microplastics and AMR are interconnected through biofilms, where genetic information (e.g., ARGs) is horizontally transferred between bacteria. From this perspective, we tried to summarize what is currently known on this topic and to propose a more effective One Health policy to tackle these threats.

Keywords: microplastics; One Health; antimicrobial resistance; xenobiotic contaminants; environmental threatening; global health safety (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
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