Journal article 394 views 47 downloads
Inactivation of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes in wastewater streams: Current challenges and future perspectives
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Samuel A. Iwarere
Frontiers in Microbiology, Volume: 13
Swansea University Author:
Chedly Tizaoui
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© 2023 Mosaka, Unuofin, Daramola, Tizaoui and Iwarere. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
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DOI (Published version): 10.3389/fmicb.2022.1100102
Abstract
The discovery of antibiotics, which was once regarded as a timely medical intervention now leaves a bitter aftertaste: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), due to the unregulated use of these compounds and the poor management receiving wastewaters before discharge into pristine environments or the recycl...
| Published in: | Frontiers in Microbiology |
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| ISSN: | 1664-302X |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media SA
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| Online Access: |
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| URI: | https://cronfa.swan.ac.uk/Record/cronfa63281 |
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| Abstract: |
The discovery of antibiotics, which was once regarded as a timely medical intervention now leaves a bitter aftertaste: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), due to the unregulated use of these compounds and the poor management receiving wastewaters before discharge into pristine environments or the recycling of such treated waters. Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been regarded a central sink for the mostly unmetabolized or partially metabolised antibiotics and is also pivotal tothe incidence of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARBs) and their resistance genes (ARGs), which consistently contribute to the global disease burden and deteriorating prophylaxis. In this regard, we highlighted WWTP-antibiotics consumption-ARBs-ARGs nexus, which might be critical to understanding the epidemiology of AMR and also guide the precise prevention and remediation of such occurrences. We also discovered the unsophistication of conventional WWTPs and treatment techniques for adequate treatment of antibiotics, ARBs and ARGs, due to their lack of compliancewith environmental sustainability, then ultimately assessed the prospects of cold atmospheric plasma (CAP). Herein, we observed that CAP technologies not only has the capability to disinfect wastewater polluted with copious amounts of chemicals and biologicals, but also have a potential to augment bioelectricity generation, when integrated into bio electrochemical modules, which future WWTPs should be retrofitted to accommodate. Therefore, further research should be conducted to unveil more of the unknowns, which only a snippet has been highlighted in this study. |
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| Keywords: |
antibiotic-resistant bacteria, antibiotic-resistance genes, wastewater, disinfection method, cold atmospheric plasma |
| College: |
Faculty of Science and Engineering |
| Funders: |
This work was supported by the Government of the United Kingdom under the Global Challenge Research Funds through the Royal Society in which the corresponding author SI is a FLAIR Fellow [FLR\R1\201683]. JU was supported by the National Research Foundation of South Africa [Grant no: 138445]. |