scholarly journals Antimicrobial resistance gene surveillance in the receiving waters of an upgraded wastewater treatment plant

FACETS ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claire N. Freeman ◽  
Lena Scriver ◽  
Kara D. Neudorf ◽  
Lisbeth Truelstrup Hansen ◽  
Rob C. Jamieson ◽  
...  

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been identified as hotspots for antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) and thus represent a critical point where patterns in ARG abundances can be monitored prior to their release into the environment. The aim of the current study was to measure the impact of the release of the final treated effluent (FE) on the abundance of ARGs in the receiving water of a recently upgraded WWTP in the Canadian prairies. Sample nutrient content (phosphorous and nitrogen species) was measured as a proxy for WWTP functional performance, and quantitative PCR (qPCR) was used to measure the abundance of eight ARGs, the intI1 gene associated with class I integrons, and the 16S rRNA gene. The genes ermB, sul1, intI1, blaCTX-M, qnrS, and tetO all had higher abundances downstream of the WWTP, consistent with the genes with highest abundance in the FE. These findings are consistent with the increasing evidence suggesting that human activity affects the abundances of ARGs in the environment. Although the degree of risk associated with releasing ARGs into the environment is still unclear, understanding the environmental dimension of this threat will help develop informed management policies to reduce the spread of antibiotic resistance and protect public health.

2014 ◽  
Vol 80 (12) ◽  
pp. 3656-3666 ◽  
Author(s):  
Basanta Kumar Biswal ◽  
Ramzi Khairallah ◽  
Kareem Bibi ◽  
Alberto Mazza ◽  
Ronald Gehr ◽  
...  

ABSTRACTWastewater discharges may increase the populations of pathogens, includingEscherichia coli, and of antimicrobial-resistant strains in receiving waters. This study investigated the impact of UV and peracetic acid (PAA) disinfection on the prevalence of virulence and antimicrobial resistance genes in uropathogenicEscherichia coli(UPEC), the most abundantE. colipathotype in municipal wastewaters. Laboratory disinfection experiments were conducted on wastewater treated by physicochemical, activated sludge, or biofiltration processes; 1,766E. coliisolates were obtained for the evaluation. The target disinfection level was 200 CFU/100 ml, resulting in UV and PAA doses of 7 to 30 mJ/cm2and 0.9 to 2.0 mg/liter, respectively. The proportions of UPECs were reduced in all samples after disinfection, with an average reduction by UV of 55% (range, 22% to 80%) and by PAA of 52% (range, 11% to 100%). Analysis of urovirulence genes revealed that the decline in the UPEC populations was not associated with any particular virulence factor. A positive association was found between the occurrence of urovirulence and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs). However, the changes in the prevalence of ARGs in potential UPECs were different following disinfection, i.e., UV appears to have had no effect, while PAA significantly reduced the ARG levels. Thus, this study showed that both UV and PAA disinfections reduced the proportion of UPECs and that PAA disinfection also reduced the proportion of antimicrobial resistance gene-carrying UPEC pathotypes in municipal wastewaters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 13 ◽  
pp. 117862212093585 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karim M Morsy ◽  
Mohamed K Mostafa ◽  
Khaled Z Abdalla ◽  
Mona M Galal

Although significant progress has been achieved in the field of environmental impact assessment in many engineering disciplines, the impact of wastewater treatment plants has not yet been well integrated. In light of this remarkable scientific progress, the outputs of the plants as treated water and clean sludge have become potential sources of irrigation and energy, not a waste. The aim of this study is to assess the environmental impacts of upgrading the wastewater treatment plants from primary to secondary treatment. The Lifecycle Assessment Framework (ISO 14040 and 14044) was applied using GaBi Software. Abu Rawash wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) has been taken as a case study. Two scenarios were studied, Scenario 1 is the current situation of the WWTP using the primary treatment units and Scenario 2 is upgrading the WWTP by adding secondary treatment units. The study highlighted the influence and cumulative impact of upgrading all the primary WWTPs in Egypt to secondary treatment. With the high amount of energy consumed in the aeration process, energy recovery methods were proposed to boost the circular economy concept in Abu Rawash WWTP in order to achieve optimal results from environmental and economic perspectives.


2019 ◽  
Vol 23 (10) ◽  
pp. 1783-1786
Author(s):  
MI Ugwoke ◽  
DA Machido ◽  
MB Tijjani

Biofilm producing bacteria are associated with many recalcitrant infections and are highly resistant to antimicrobial agents, hence notoriously difficult to eradicate. This study aimed at determining the biofilm forming capacities of bacterial isolates recovered in the raw wastewater and treated effluent from Wastewater Treatment Plants of Ahmadu Bello University Zaria using Tube Method (TM) and Congo Red Agar (CRA) method; and from the results, among the isolates recovered from the raw wastewater, TM detected 62.5% isolates as positive and 37.5% as negative for biofilm production, CRA detected 37.5% isolates as positive and 62.5% as negative for biofilm production. TM also demonstrated to be more suitable in detecting biofilm producing bacterial isolates from the treated effluent were it detected 50% isolates as positive and 50% as negative. However, CRA detected only 12.5% isolates as positive and 87.5% as negative for biofilm production. We therefore, conclude that the TM is more efficient and reliable for detection of biofilm producing bacteria in the laboratory when compared to CRA method and can be recommended as one of the suitable standard screening method for the detection of biofilm producing bacteria in laboratories.Keywords: Biofilm; Bacteria; Congo red agar and Tube method


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Bueno ◽  
Amanda Beaudoin ◽  
William A. Arnold ◽  
Taegyu Kim ◽  
Lara E. Frankson ◽  
...  

AbstractThe environment plays a key role in the spread and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Antimicrobials and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG) are released into the environment from sources such as wastewater treatment plants, and animal farms. This study describes an approach guided by spatial mapping to quantify and predict antimicrobials and ARG in Minnesota’s waterbodies in water and sediment at two spatial scales: macro, throughout the state, and micro, in specific waterbodies. At the macroscale, the highest concentrations across all antimicrobial classes were found near populated areas. Kernel interpolation provided an approximation of antimicrobial concentrations and ARG abundance at unsampled locations. However, there was high uncertainty in these predictions, due in part to low study power and large distances between sites. At the microscale, wastewater treatment plants had an effect on ARG abundance (sul1 and sul2 in water; blaSHV, intl1, mexB, and sul2 in sediment), but not on antimicrobial concentrations. Results from sediment reflected a long-term history, while water reflected a more transient record of antimicrobials and ARG. This study highlights the value of using spatial analyses, different spatial scales, and sampling matrices, to design an environmental monitoring approach to advance our understanding of AMR persistence and dissemination.


2020 ◽  
Vol 223 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene Bueno ◽  
Claudio Verdugo ◽  
Omar Jimenez-Lopez ◽  
Pedro Pablo Alvarez ◽  
Gerardo Gonzalez-Rocha ◽  
...  

2014 ◽  
Vol 69 (7) ◽  
pp. 1359-1372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Oskar Modin ◽  
David J. I. Gustavsson

Microbial bioelectrochemical systems (BESs) utilize living microorganisms to drive oxidation and reduction reactions at solid electrodes. BESs could potentially be used at municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) to recover the energy content of organic matter, to produce chemicals useful at the site, or to monitor and control biological treatment processes. In this paper, we review bioelectrochemical technologies that could be applied for municipal wastewater treatment. Sjölunda WWTP in Malmö, Sweden, is used as an example to illustrate how the different technologies potentially could be integrated into an existing treatment plant and the impact they could have on the plant's utilization of energy and chemicals.


2011 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 1018-1031 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Venkatesh ◽  
Helge Brattebø

Wastewater treatment plants, while performing the important function of treating wastewater to meet the prescribed discharge standards, consume energy and a variety of chemicals. This paper analyses the consumption of energy and chemicals by wastewater treatment plants in Oslo over eight years, and their potential environmental impacts. Global warming and acidification were the dominant impacts for chemicals and energy, respectively. Avoided impacts due to usable by-products – sludge, ammonium nitrate and biogas – play a key role in shrinking the environmental footprint of the wastewater plants. The scope for decreasing this footprint by streamlining energy and chemicals consumption is limited, however, considering that over 70% of the impact is accounted for by the eutrophication potential (thanks to the nitrogen and phosphorus which is discharged to the sink) of the treated effluent wastewater.


Energies ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 100
Author(s):  
Horia Andrei ◽  
Cristian Andrei Badea ◽  
Paul Andrei ◽  
Filippo Spertino

Wastewater treatment plants and power generation constitute inseparable parts of present society. So the growth of wastewater treatment plants is accompanied by an increase in the energy consumption, and a sustainable development implies the use of renewable energy sources on a large scale in the power generation. A case study of the synergy between wastewater treatment plants and photovoltaic systems, aiming to improve the energetic, environmental and economic impacts, is presented. Based on data acquisition, the energy consumption analysis of wastewater treatment plant reveals that the highest demand is during April, and the lowest is during November. The placement of photovoltaic modules is designed to maximize the use of free space on the technological area of wastewater treatment plant in order to obtain a power output as high as possible. The peak consumption of wastewater treatment plant occurs in April, however the peak production of the photovoltaic is in July, so electrochemical batteries can partly compensate for this mismatch. The impact of the photovoltaic system connectivity on power grid is assessed by means of the matching-index method and the storage battery significantly improves this parameter. Carbon credit and energy payback time are used to assess the environmental impact. The results prove that the photovoltaic system mitigates 12,118 tons of carbon and, respectively, the embedded energy is compensated by production in 8 ½ years. The economic impact of the photovoltaic system is analyzed by the levelized cost of energy, and the results show that the price of energy from the photovoltaic source is below the current market price of energy.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tanya Monaghan ◽  
Tim J. Sloan ◽  
Stephen R. Stockdale ◽  
Adam M. Blanchard ◽  
Richard D. Emes ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The impact of the rapid urbanisation of low- and middle-income countries on the human gut microbiome remains grossly understudied. Whilst the effect of urbanisation on the bacterial populations of the human gut microbiome have been documented, little is known about the influence of diet and antibiotics on the bacteriome, its virome, and antibiotic resistome. Here, we use shotgun metagenomics to comprehensively characterise the bacterial and viral fractions of the human gut microbiome, and their encoded functions, from two divergent Central Indian populations (rural agriculturalists from Melghat and an urban population in Nagpur). Additionally, we investigate cohorts with and without diarrhoea, and the potential burden of Clostridioides difficile, associated with widespread unregulated use of antibiotics in India. Results We observed distinct rural-urban differences in the gut microbiome, including viral diversity and composition, with geography exhibiting a greater influence than diarrhoeal status. Urban microbiomes were enriched in metabolic pathways responsible for degradation of drugs and organic compounds, which were predicted to relate to replacement of rural-enriched Prevotella spp. and fermentative Clostridiales with Enterobacteriaceae and Bacteroides spp. By linking phages present in the microbiome to their bacterial hosts through CRISPR spacers, a shift from Prevotella- and Eubacterium-infecting phages to Bacteroides- and Parabacteroides-infecting phages was observed in rural and urban populations, respectively. Additionally, the auxiliary metabolic potential of rural-associated phage populations was enriched for carbon and amino acid energy harvesting potential, compared to urban-associated phages. A core set of antimicrobial resistance genes was identified in both populations, particularly those conferring resistance to macrolides, tetracyclines and 1stgeneration cephalosporins, with the majority also showing evidence of resistance to fluoroquinolones, aminoglycosides and sulphonamides. In a subgroup of urban subjects with diarrhoea and high antibiotic exposure, most of whom tested positive for C. difficile toxin, evidence of resistance to fosfomycin, glycopeptides, daptomycin, 3rd generation cephalosporins and carbapenems was widespread. Conclusions We report distinct differences in antimicrobial resistance gene profiles as well as a marked variation in the burden of C. difficile disease between rural and urban populations. The key drivers of variation in urban and rural Indian microbiomes are geography, diet, industrial and healthcare exposures.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document