The unique properties of wastewater, which allow genes for resistance to harmless bacteria to grow against those that cause disease, provide a strong breeding ground for the development of antibiotic resistance, according to a new study.
Scientists from the Center for Antibiotic Resistance Research (CARe) in Gothenburg, Sweden, presented evidence of where genes might acquire their ability to move in a study published in the journal Communications Biology.
It’s not enough for antibiotics alone to drive the process, they acknowledged.
For movement of resistance genes, species carrying resistance genes must be present in their chromosomes together with specific DNA sequences ensuring their movement.
The researchers analyzed DNA from thousands of samples in different environments and found that all these key components did not come together in the intestines of people or animals, but in sewage.
“In order to fight antibiotic resistance, we can’t just focus on preventing the spread of those types of resistant bacteria that are already in circulation, we also have to prevent or delay the emergence of new ones,” said Fanny Berglund, a researcher at the Sahlgrenska Academy. at the University of Gothenburg and lead author of the study.
Previous studies published by the same research team showed that the environment harbored a huge variety of different resistance genes, far more than the resistance genes found in disease-causing bacteria today, making it a huge source for those genes to jump between species and gain more resistance. .
The authors said that prioritizing it by polluting the environment with antibiotics is not a good idea.
“We are very focused on reducing the use of antibiotics in humans and animals. This is of course important, but our study shows that we also need to pay attention to our waste streams, because it seems that this is where new variants of antibiotics are emerging and could to discover resistance,” concludes Fanny Berglund.
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