The environment as a reservoir for antimicrobial resistance : A growing problem for public health?

• Published in: Bundesgesundheitsblatt, Gesundheitsforschung, Gesundheitsschutz Vol. 61; no. 5; pp. 533 - 542
• Main Authors: Westphal-Settele, Kathi, Konradi, Sabine, Balzer, Frederike, Schönfeld, Jens, Schmithausen, Ricarda
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: German
• Published: Germany 01.05.2018
• Subjects: Animal Husbandry - trends; Animals; Anti-Bacterial Agents - therapeutic use; Antimicrobial Stewardship; Disinfectants - adverse effects; Drug Resistance, Microbial - drug effects; Drug Resistance, Microbial - genetics; Forecasting; Gene Transfer, Horizontal - drug effects; Gene Transfer, Horizontal - genetics; Germany; Humans; Metals, Heavy - adverse effects; Public Health - trends; Germany; Sanitary measures; Antimicrobial resistance (AMR); AMR genes; Resistome; Antibiotics
• ISSN: 1437-1588
• DOI: 10.1007/s00103-018-2729-8

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a threat to public and animal health on the global scale. The origin of the genes associated with resistance has long been unknown. Recently, there is a growing body of evidence demonstrating that environmental bacteria are resistant to a multitude of antibiotic substances and that this environmental reservoir of AMR is still growing. The analysis of the genomes of bacterial pathogens indicates that they have acquired their resistance profiles by incorporating different genetic elements through horizontal gene transfer. The ancestors of pathogenic bacteria, as well as the origin of resistance determinants, lay most likely in the environmental microbiota. Indeed, there is some evidence that at least some clinically relevant resistance genes have originated in environmental bacterial species. Thus, feasible measures are required to reduce the risks posed by AMR genes and resistant bacteria that occur in the environment. It has been shown that a concurrence of factors, such as high concentrations of antibiotics or heavy metals used as biocides and high bacterial densities, promote development and spread of antimicrobial resistance. For this purpose, it is essential to restrict the use of antibiotics for the treatment of livestock and humans to medical necessity, as well as to reduce the application of biocides and heavy metals in animal husbandry. Moreover, it is important to further develop sanitary measures at the interface between the environment and clinical settings or livestock farming.