Abstract
Anthropogenic pressure is known to be a key driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) dissemination in the environment. Especially in lower income countries, with poor infrastructure, the level of AMR dissemination is high. Therefore, we assessed the levels and diversity of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in Lebanese rivers at estuaries’ sites (n = 72) of the Mediterranean Sea in spring 2017 and winter 2018. Methods: A combined approach using culture techniques and high throughput qPCR were applied to identify ARB and ARGs in rivers along the Lebanese coast. Results: Multidrug-resistant Gram-negative (Enterobacterales and Pseudomonas spp.) and Gram-positive bacterial pathogens were isolated. Levels of ARGs were highest in the winter campaign and areas with high anthropogenic activities and population growth with an influx of refugees. Conclusion: Qualitative analysis of ARB and the analysis of the Lebanese estuaries’ resistome revealed critical levels of contamination with pathogenic bacteria and provided significant information about the spread of ARGs in anthropogenically impacted estuaries.
Highlights
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a One Health crisis aggravated by the lack of water and pollution management on a global scale [1,2]
Through discharge of treated or untreated wastewater (WW) effluents into surface water, a high abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) mixed with a cocktail of micropollutants and drug residues are continuously disseminated into the environment [10,11,12,13]
In Lebanon, rules to control the overuse and misuse of antibiotics for treatment, growth promotion, and prophylaxis in agriculture and animal husbandry are not strictly implemented [15,16], which would likely contribute to increasing AMR in the Lebanese and connected environments [17,18]
Summary
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a One Health crisis aggravated by the lack of water and pollution management on a global scale [1,2]. Through discharge of treated or untreated wastewater (WW) effluents into surface water, a high abundance of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), and mobile genetic elements (MGEs) mixed with a cocktail of micropollutants and drug residues are continuously disseminated into the environment [10,11,12,13]. Agricultural practices such as soil fertilization with manure and sludge, or irrigation with WW effluents, further expand the environmental background levels of pollutants associated with the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance [9,14]. High abundances of ARGs were found to be associated with fecal contamination [21,22,23]
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