Environment, animals, and food as reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria for humans: One health or more?

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major public health challenge. For several years, AMR has been addressed through a One Health approach that links human health, animal health, and environmental quality. In this review, we discuss AMR in different reservoirs with a focus on the environment. Anthropogenic activities produce effluents (sewage, manure, and industrial wastes) that contaminate soils and aquatic environments with antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), and selective agents such as antibiotics, biocides, and heavy metals. Livestock treated with antibiotics can also contaminate food with ARB. In high-income countries (HICs), effective sanitation infrastructure and limited pharmaceutical industries result in more controlled discharges associated with human activities. Hence, studies using genome-based typing methods have revealed that, although rare inter-reservoir transmission events have been reported, human acquisition in HICs occurs primarily through person-to-person transmission. The situation is different in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) where high population density, poorer sanitation and animal farming practices are more conducive to inter-reservoir transmissions. In addition, environmental bacteria can be a source of ARGs that, when transferred to pathogenic species under antibiotic selection pressure in environmental hotspots, produce new antibiotic-resistant strains that can potentially spread in the human community through human-to-human transmission.

The keys to reducing AMR in the environment are (i) better treatment of human waste by improving wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in HICs and improving sanitation infrastructure in LMICs, (ii) reducing the use of antibiotics by humans and animals, (iii) prioritizing the use of less environmentally harmful antibiotics, and (iv) better control of pharmaceutical industry waste.