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Polluted city air has now been identified as a
possible means of transmission for resistant
bacteria. Researchers in Gothenburg have shown that
air samples from Beijing contain DNA from genes that
make bacteria resistant to the most powerful
antibiotics we have.
"This may be a more important means of transmission
than previously thought," says Joakim Larsson, a
professor at Sahlgrenska Academy and director of the
Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research at the
University of Gothenburg.
Joakim Larsson and his colleagues have previously
received attention for their research on waterborne
release of antibiotics from pharmaceutical
production in India, which was shown to trigger the
development of resistant bacteria.
In this new study, the researchers looked for genes
that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics in a
total of 864 samples of DNA collected from humans,
animals, and different environments worldwide.
"We studied only a small number of air samples, so
to generalize, we need to examine the air from more
places. But the air samples we did analyze showed a
wide mix of different resistance genes. Of
particular concern is that we found a series of
genes that provide resistance to carbapenems, a
group of last resort antibiotics taken for
infections caused by bacteria that are often very
difficult to treat," says Larsson.
The results do not show whether the sampled bacteria
were actually alive in the air, which would make
them a real threat.
"It is reasonable to believe that there is a mixture
of live and dead bacteria, based on experience from
other studies of air," says Larsson.
The next step for the research is to find out if
resistance spreads through air from European sewage
treatment plants. This research will be carried out
within the framework of a larger collaborative
international project that has just been selected
for funding by the Joint Programming Initiative on
Antimicrobial Resistance (JPI-AMR), where the
Swedish Research Council is providing the Gothenburg
group's financing.
"We're going to let treatment plant employees carry
air samplers. We will also study their bacterial
flora and flora of people who live very close and
farther away, and see if there seems to be a
connection to the treatment plants," says Larsson.
For more information
Microbiome
The structure and diversity of human, animal and
environmental resistomes.
Pal C, Bengtsson-Palme J, Kristiansson E, Larsson
DGJ. (2016).
Link...
Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research at the
University of Gothenburg (CARe)
Link...
The Joint Programming Initiative on Antimicrobial
Resistance (JPI-AMR)
Link...
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