Abstract
The emergence of antibiotic resistance among pathogenic microorganisms is a major issue for global public health, as it results in acute or chronic infections, debilitating diseases, and mortality. Of particular concern is the rapid and common spread of carbapenem resistance in healthcare settings. Carbapenems are a class of critical antibiotics reserved for treatment against multidrug-resistant microorganisms, and resistance to this antibiotic may result in limited treatment against infections. In addition to in clinical facilities, carbapenem resistance has also been identified in aquatic niches, including marine environments. Various carbapenem-resistant genes (CRGs) have been detected in different marine settings, with the majority of the genes incorporated in mobile genetic elements, i.e., transposons or plasmids, which may contribute to efficient genetic transfer. This review highlights the potential of the marine environment as a reservoir for carbapenem resistance and provides a general overview of CRG transmission among marine microbes.
Highlights
This review summarizes the knowledge on the spread of carbapenem resistance (CR) outside of the clinical setting with particular focus on the potential of the marine environment to act as a reservoir for the genetic transfer of CR among bacteria
The global spread of CR is becoming a major threat to public health and has worsened with the detection of resistance in last-line antibiotics, including carbapenems [1,15,16]
carbapenemresistant bacteria (CRB) and carbapenem-resistant genes (CRGs) seem to be transported from terrestrial sources through stormwater runoff, wastewater discharges, and polluted rivers [21,25,42,57], which had a significant effect on the diversity and CRB load in the marine environment
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. The Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC) has estimated that in the United States alone, two million people are infected by antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), resulting in 23,000 fatalities every year [2]. The β-lactams belonging to the class of carbapenems are very efficient antibiotics that are widely used to treat severe or high-risk bacterial infections. Due to their broad spectrum of activity and efficacy against both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria, carbapenems are considered a “last resort” antibiotic to treat severely ill patients or those suspected of carrying multi-resistant bacteria [15]. This review summarizes the knowledge on the spread of CR outside of the clinical setting with particular focus on the potential of the marine environment to act as a reservoir for the genetic transfer of CR among bacteria
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