Publications scientifiques
Autres affiliations : University of Birmingham
Laura J. V. Piddock* (Auteur correspondant)
Environmental Science & Technology
I t is estimated that antibiotic-resistant bacteria cause 23 000 and 25 000 deaths in the United States and Europe, respectively; 1 the situation is similar worldwide and even worse in low and middle income countries (LMICs) where a high infectious disease burden is coupled with rapid emergence and spread of microbial drug resistance. 1 Populations from LMICs are facing an increasing rise in numbers of antibioticresistant bacteria; members of the Enterobacteriaceae and Pseudomonaceae are the most frequently isolated bacteria from clinical samples. 2 Deaths from antibiotic-resistant bacteria are under-reported, 1 but available data indicates that a large number of neonatal deaths due to drug-resistant sepsis occur every year in India, Pakistan, Nigeria, and in the Democratic Republic of Congo. 2 Taking this into account, it is no surprise that globally by 2030 infectious diseases are predicted to be one of the most frequent causes of death. 1 The important role of the environment in the dissemination of antibiotic resistance is acknowledged, and the aquatic environment has been shown to act both as a natural reservoir and a channel for the spread of clinically relevant antibiotic resistance traits. 3Approximately 50-90% of antibiotics are excreted in urine or faeces from people or animals, either in their original formulation, partly degraded or as metabolites.Consequently, due to the higher consumption of antibiotics without control in LMICs, huge quantities of antibiotics end up in water ecosystems. 4To survive in the presence of antibiotics, bacteria have evolved a plethora of different antibiotic
