Fitness costs associated with the acquisition of antibiotic resistance

2017 ◽  
Vol 61 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sara Hernando-Amado ◽  
Fernando Sanz-García ◽  
Paula Blanco ◽  
José L. Martínez

Acquisition of antibiotic resistance is a relevant problem for human health. The selection and spread of antibiotic-resistant organisms not only compromise the treatment of infectious diseases, but also the implementation of different therapeutic procedures as organ transplantation, advanced surgery or chemotherapy, all of which require proficient methods for avoiding infections. It has been generally accepted that the acquisition of antibiotic resistance will produce a general metabolic burden: in the absence of selection, the resistant organisms would be outcompeted by the susceptible ones. If that was always true, discontinuation of antibiotic use would render the disappearance of resistant microorganisms. However, several studies have shown that, once resistance emerges, the recovery of a fully susceptible population even in the absence of antibiotics is not easy. In the present study, we review updated information on the effect of the acquisition of antibiotic resistance in bacterial physiology as well as on the mechanisms that allow the compensation of the fitness costs associated with the acquisition of resistance.

2009 ◽  
Vol 7 (S1) ◽  
pp. S75-S93 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mark D. Sobsey ◽  
Suresh D. Pillai

A consideration of available evidence for some known and well-characterized waterborne pathogens suggests that the diversity of pathogen virulence mechanisms and properties is too great to specifically predict the emergence and future human health impacts of new waterborne pathogens. However, some future emerging pathogens are existing microbes that will be discovered to cause disease. Some will arise from existing ones by either predictable evolutionary and adaptation changes or by unpredictable changes involving a variety of biotic and abiotic mechanisms. Many, and perhaps most, emerging waterborne human pathogens will be zoonotic agents or come from other non-human reservoirs. The emergence of some waterborne pathogens will be related to antibiotic use, resulting in emerging antibiotic-resistant waterborne pathogens. Reliably predicting pathogen emergence and human health effects based on VFARs or other properties of microbes and their hosts is not possible at this time. This is because of (1) the diversity of microbes and their virulence and pathogenicity properties, (2) their ability to change unpredictably, (3) their intimate and diverse interrelationships with a myriad of hosts and dynamic natural and anthropogenic environments and (4) the subtle variations in the immune status of individuals. The best available approach to predicting waterborne pathogen emergence is through vigilant use of microbial, infectious disease and epidemiological surveillance. Understanding the microbial metagenome of the human body can also lead to a better understanding of how we define and characterize pathogens, commensals and opportunists.


2018 ◽  
Vol 243 (6) ◽  
pp. 538-553 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan P Coussens ◽  
Ashley L Molinaro ◽  
Kayla J Culbertson ◽  
Tyler Peryea ◽  
Gergely Zahoránszky-Köhalmi ◽  
...  

The increasing emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria is recognized as a major threat to human health worldwide. While the use of small molecule antibiotics has enabled many modern medical advances, it has also facilitated the development of resistant organisms. This minireview provides an overview of current small molecule drugs approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for use in humans, the unintended consequences of antibiotic use, and the mechanisms that underlie the development of drug resistance. Promising new approaches and strategies to counter antibiotic-resistant bacteria with small molecules are highlighted. However, continued public investment in this area is critical to maintain an edge in our evolutionary “arms race” against antibiotic-resistant microorganisms. Impact statement The alarming increase in antibiotic-resistant microorganisms is a rapidly emerging threat to human health throughout the world. Historically, small molecule drugs have played a major role in controlling bacterial infections and they continue to offer tremendous potential in countering resistant organisms. This minireview provides a broad overview of the relevant issues, including the diversity of FDA-approved small molecule drugs and mechanisms of drug resistance, unintended consequences of antibiotic use, the current state of development for small molecule antibacterials and financial challenges that impact progress towards novel therapies. The content will be informative to diverse stakeholders, including clinicians, basic scientists, translational scientists and policy makers, and may be used as a bridge between these key players to advance the development of much-needed therapeutics.


Author(s):  
Talia Raphaely ◽  
Dora Marinova ◽  
Mira Marinova

This chapter discusses antibiotic use in the livestock industry and potential ramifications for human health. Antibiotics are routinely administered to food animals, primarily at sub-therapeutic levels. The extensive use of antibiotics in global animal husbandry in quantities greater than used for humans is creating antibiotic resistance. There is evidence that antibiotic resistant organisms emerging in food animals transfer to humans through the food chain, environmental contamination, direct association with animals or through mobile resistant genetic elements resulting in co-resistance to other antibiotics. No new classes of antibiotics have been developed since the 1980s. Intensifying use of existing antibiotics for meat production poses new challenges for treating humans, needs to be taken seriously and dealt with urgently. This chapter argues that reduced meat consumption is an under-considered but essential part in any suite of solutions aimed at preserving the use of antibiotics for human treatment.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (4) ◽  
pp. e001710 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen L Tang ◽  
Niamh P Caffrey ◽  
Diego B Nóbrega ◽  
Susan C Cork ◽  
Paul E Ronksley ◽  
...  

BackgroundWe have previously reported, in a systematic review of 181 studies, that restriction of antibiotic use in food-producing animals is associated with a reduction in antibiotic-resistant bacterial isolates. While informative, that report did not concretely specify whether different types of restriction are associated with differential effectiveness in reducing resistance. We undertook a sub-analysis of the systematic review to address this question.MethodsWe created a classification scheme of different approaches to antibiotic restriction: (1) complete restriction; (2) single antibiotic-class restriction; (3) single antibiotic restriction; (4) all non-therapeutic use restriction; (5) growth promoter and prophylaxis restriction; (6) growth promoter restriction and (7) other/undetermined. All studies in the original systematic review that were amenable to meta-analysis were included into this substudy and coded by intervention type. Meta-analyses were conducted using random effects models, stratified by intervention type.ResultsA total of 127 studies were included. The most frequently studied intervention type was complete restriction (n=51), followed by restriction of non-therapeutic (n=33) and growth promoter (n=19) indications. None examined growth promoter and prophylaxis restrictions together. Three and seven studies examined single antibiotic-class and single antibiotic restrictions, respectively; these two intervention types were not significantly associated with reductions in antibiotic resistance. Though complete restrictions were associated with a 15% reduction in antibiotic resistance, less prohibitive approaches also demonstrated reduction in antibiotic resistance of 9%–30%.ConclusionBroad interventions that restrict global antibiotic use appear to be more effective in reducing antibiotic resistance compared with restrictions that narrowly target one specific antibiotic or antibiotic class. Importantly, interventions that allow for therapeutic antibiotic use appear similarly effective compared with those that restrict all uses of antibiotics, suggesting that complete bans are not necessary. These findings directly inform the creation of specific policies to restrict antibiotic use in food-producing animals.


2016 ◽  
pp. 1335-1357
Author(s):  
Talia Raphaely ◽  
Dora Marinova ◽  
Mira Marinova

This chapter discusses antibiotic use in the livestock industry and potential ramifications for human health. Antibiotics are routinely administered to food animals, primarily at sub-therapeutic levels. The extensive use of antibiotics in global animal husbandry in quantities greater than used for humans is creating antibiotic resistance. There is evidence that antibiotic resistant organisms emerging in food animals transfer to humans through the food chain, environmental contamination, direct association with animals or through mobile resistant genetic elements resulting in co-resistance to other antibiotics. No new classes of antibiotics have been developed since the 1980s. Intensifying use of existing antibiotics for meat production poses new challenges for treating humans, needs to be taken seriously and dealt with urgently. This chapter argues that reduced meat consumption is an under-considered but essential part in any suite of solutions aimed at preserving the use of antibiotics for human treatment.


2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (51) ◽  
pp. 12896-12901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith P. Klugman ◽  
Steven Black

Vaccines impact antibiotic-resistant infections in two ways: through a direct reduction in the organisms and strains carrying resistant genes that are specifically targeted by the vaccine and also via a secondary effect through a reduction in febrile illnesses that often lead to the use of antibiotics. We review here the impact of pneumococcal conjugate vaccines (PCVs) on the prevalence of antibiotic-resistant disease and antibiotic usage as an example of the direct effect of vaccines on antibiotic resistance and the impact of influenza vaccination on antibiotic usage as an example of a secondary effect. A prelicensure study of a PCV in Africa demonstrated 67% fewer penicillin-resistant invasive disease episodes in the PCV group compared with controls. Similar studies in the United States and Europe demonstrated reductions in antibiotic use consistent with the vaccines’ impact on the risk of otitis media infections in children. Postlicensure reductions in the circulation of antibiotic-resistant strains targeted by the vaccines have been dramatic, with virtual elimination of these strains in children following vaccine introduction. In terms of a secondary effect, following influenza vaccination reductions of 13–50% have been observed in the use of antibiotics by individuals receiving influenza vaccine compared with controls. With the demonstrated effectiveness of vaccination programs in impacting the risk of antibiotic-resistant infections and the increasing threat to public health that these infections represent, more attention needs to be given to development and utilization of vaccines to address antibiotic resistance.


2021 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhongli Chen ◽  
Jinsong Guo ◽  
Yanxue Jiang ◽  
Ying Shao

AbstractThe issue of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2), has created enormous threat to global health. In an effort to contain the spread of COVID-19, a huge amount of disinfectants and antibiotics have been utilized on public health. Accordingly, the concentration of disinfectants and antibiotics is increasing rapidly in various environments, including wastewater, surface waters, soils and sediments. The aims of this study were to analyze the potential ecological environment impacts of disinfectants and antibiotics by summarizing their utilization, environmental occurrence, distribution and toxicity. The paper highlights the promoting effects of disinfectants and antibiotics on antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and even antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). The scientific evidences indicate that the high concentration and high dose of disinfectants and antibiotics promote the evolution toward antimicrobial resistance through horizontal gene transformation and vertical gene transformation, which threaten human health. Further concerns should be focused more on the enrichment, bioaccumulation and biomagnification of disinfectants, antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) and even antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) in human bodies.


2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 64
Author(s):  
James Del Rosso DO

Antibiotic resistance is a major health concern worldwide as the list of bacterial pathogens that are insensitive to available antibiotics continues to grow in both hospitals and outpatient communities. The slow development of newer antibiotics adds to the formidable challenge that clinicians face with treatment of infections caused by antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This article discusses important caveats related to antibiotic use in dermatology. These include understanding that both topical and oral antibiotics contribute to the emergence and spread of resistant bacteria, that antibiotic monotherapy is to be avoided for treatment of acne vulgaris, that effective treatment of rosacea does not require the use of an antibiotic, that antibiotic therapy in the management of atopic dermatitis is best limited to treatment of an active clinical infection, and that routine post-operative use of a topical antibiotic is not suggested after most office-based dermatologic procedures. By following principles of antibiotic stewardship, dermatologists are major players in the battle against antibiotic resistance.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diana Stone ◽  
Margaret Davis ◽  
Katherine Baker ◽  
Tom Besser ◽  
Rohini Roopnarine ◽  
...  

This study determined whether multilocus sequence types (MLST) ofCampylobacterfrom poultry in 2 farms in Grenada, West Indies, differed by farm, antimicrobial resistance and farm antibiotic use. Farm A used fluoroquinolones in the water and Farm B used tetracyclines. The E-test was used to determine resistance of isolates to seven antibiotics. PCR of theIpxAgene confirmed species and MLST was used to characterize 38 isolates. All isolates were eitherC. jejuniorC. coli. Farm antibiotic use directly correlated with antimicrobial resistance ofCampylobacterisolates. Almost 80% of the isolates from Farm A were fluoroquinolone resistant and 17.9% of the isolates from Farm B were fluoroquinolone resistant. AllCampylobacterisolates from Farm A were tetracycline sensitive, whereas 35.7% of isolates from Farm B were tetracycline resistant. Six previously recognized sequence types (STs) and 2 novel STs were identified. Previously recognized STs were those overwhelmingly reported from poultry and humans globally. Isolates with the same ST did not always have the same antibiotic resistance profile. There was little ST overlap between the farms suggesting that within-farm transmission ofCampylobactergenotypes may dominate. MLST typing was useful for trackingCampylobacterspp. among poultry units and can help elucidateCampylobacterhost-species population structure and its relevance to human health.


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