Antibiotic resistance and pathogen spreading in a wastewater treatment plant designed for wastewater reuse

Climate change significantly contributes to water scarcity in various regions worldwide. While wastewater reuse is a crucial strategy for mitigating water scarcity, it also carries potential risks for human health due to the presence of pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). Antibiotic...

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Published in:Environmental pollution (1987) 2024-12, Vol.363 (Pt 1), p.125051, Article 125051
Main Authors: Macrì, Manuela, Bonetta, Sara, Di Cesare, Andrea, Sabatino, Raffaella, Corno, Gianluca, Catozzo, Marta, Pignata, Cristina, Mecarelli, Enrica, Medana, Claudio, Carraro, Elisabetta, Bonetta, Silvia
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anti-Bacterial Agents - pharmacology
Antibiotic resistance
Bacteria - drug effects
Bacteria - genetics
Climate change
Drug Resistance, Bacterial - genetics
Drug Resistance, Microbial - genetics
Metals
Metals, Heavy
Pathogens
Waste Disposal, Fluid - methods
Wastewater - microbiology
Wastewater treatment
Water Purification - methods
Water reuse
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Summary:Climate change significantly contributes to water scarcity in various regions worldwide. While wastewater reuse is a crucial strategy for mitigating water scarcity, it also carries potential risks for human health due to the presence of pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). Antibiotic resistance represents a Public Health concern and, according to the global action plan on antimicrobial resistance, wastewater role in selecting and spreading ARB must be monitored. Our aim was to assess the occurrence of ARB, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs), and potential pathogenic bacteria throughout a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) designed for water reuse. Furthermore, we aimed to evaluate potential association between ARB and ARGs with antibiotics and heavy metals. The results obtained revealed the presence of ARB, ARGs and pathogenic bacteria at every stage of the WWTP. Notably, the most prevalent ARB and ARG were sulfamethoxazole-resistant bacteria (up to 7.20 log CFU mL−1) and sulII gene (up to 5.91 log gene copies mL−1), respectively. The dominant pathogenic bacteria included Arcobacter, Flavobacterium and Aeromonas. Although the abundance of these elements significantly decreased during treatment (influent vs. effluent, p 
ISSN:0269-7491
1873-6424
1873-6424
DOI:10.1016/j.envpol.2024.125051