scholarly journals Environmental and Public Health Implications of Water Reuse: Antibiotics, Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria, and Antibiotic Resistance Genes

Antibiotics ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 367-399 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pei-Ying Hong ◽  
Nada Al-Jassim ◽  
Mohd Ansari ◽  
Roderick Mackie
Water ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (23) ◽  
pp. 3342
Author(s):  
Jörg Londong ◽  
Marcus Barth ◽  
Heinrich Söbke

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is identified by the World Health Organization (WHO) as one of the top ten threats to public health worldwide. In addition to public health, AMR also poses a major threat to food security and economic development. Current sanitation systems contribute to the emergence and spread of AMR and lack effective AMR mitigation measures. This study assesses source separation of blackwater as a mitigation measure against AMR. A source-separation-modified combined sanitation system with separate collection of blackwater and graywater is conceptually described. Measures taken at the source, such as the separate collection and discharge of material flows, were not considered so far on a load balance basis, i.e., they have not yet been evaluated for their effectiveness. The sanitation system described is compared with a combined system and a separate system regarding AMR emissions by means of simulation. AMR is represented in the simulation model by one proxy parameter each for antibiotics (sulfamethoxazole), antibiotic-resistant bacteria (extended-spectrum beta-lactamase E. Coli), and antibiotic resistance genes (blaTEM). The simulation results suggest that the source-separation-based sanitation system reduces emissions of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes into the aquatic environment by more than six logarithm steps compared to combined systems. Sulfamethoxazole emissions can be reduced by 75.5% by keeping blackwater separate from graywater and treating it sufficiently. In summary, sanitation systems incorporating source separation are, to date, among the most effective means of preventing the emission of AMR into the aquatic environment.


2021 ◽  
Vol 26 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Camila Zapata Zúñiga ◽  
Miguel Angel Parra-Pérez ◽  
Johan Alexander Álvarez-Berrio ◽  
Nidia Isabel Molina-Gómez

This study aimed to evaluate the efficiency of technologies for removing antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their antibiotic resistance genes, and the countries where they have been developed. For this purpose, was conducted a systematic review to identify the tertiary treatments to remove the above-mentioned pollutants. The ScienceDirect and Scopus databases were used as sources of information, taking into account only experimental research from 2006 to 2019 and technologies with removal rates higher than 70% to the information analyses. From the analysis of 9 technologies evaluated, in a set of 47 investigations, photo-Fenton, and electrochemical treatments were found to be the most efficient in the removal of antibiotics; gamma radiation and photocatalysis with TiO2 and UV revealed better results in the removal of resistant microbial agents and their resistance genes, with efficiencies of 99.9%. As one of the largest producers and consumers of antibiotics, China appears to be the country with the most scientific research on the area. The importance of innovation in wastewater treatment processes to achieve better results in the remotion of antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and their resistance genes is highlighted, given the effects on the aquatic ecosystems and public health.


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