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Microplastics and Antibiotic Resistance: The Magnitude of the Problem and the Emerging Role of Hospital Wastewater
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This review examines how microplastics in water can carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria and spread resistance genes, especially through hospital wastewater. Microplastics provide a surface where bacteria easily form colonies and share resistance genes, creating a potential threat to human health. The authors call for better wastewater management to reduce this emerging risk.
The role of microplastics (MPs) in the spread of antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) is increasingly attracting global research attention due to their unique ecological and environmental effects. The ubiquitous use of plastics and their release into the environment by anthropic/industrial activities are the main sources for MP contamination, especially of water bodies. Because of their physical and chemical characteristics, MPs represent an ideal substrate for microbial colonization and formation of biofilm, where horizontal gene transfer is facilitated. In addition, the widespread and often injudicious use of antibiotics in various human activities leads to their release into the environment, mainly through wastewater. For these reasons, wastewater treatment plants, in particular hospital plants, are considered hotspots for the selection of ARGs and their diffusion in the environment. As a result, the interaction of MPs with drug-resistant bacteria and ARGs make them vectors for the transport and spread of ARGs and harmful microorganisms. Microplastic-associated antimicrobial resistance is an emerging threat to the environment and consequently for human health. More studies are required to better understand the interaction of these pollutants with the environment as well as to identify effective management systems to reduce the related risk.
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Microplastics as Potential Vectors of Antimicrobial Resistance in Hospital Wastewater: from Resistome Detection to Evolutionary Risk
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This paper reviews existing research on tiny plastic particles called microplastics found in hospital wastewater. It explains that bacteria can form coatings called biofilms on these particles, which may carry genes for antibiotic resistance and help bacteria share those genes with each other more easily.
Microplastics in fresh- and wastewater are potential contributors to antibiotic resistance - A minireview
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Researchers reviewed the link between microplastic pollution and the spread of antibiotic resistance in freshwater environments, finding that microplastic surfaces host unique bacterial communities enriched in antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the resistance genes they can share with other microbes. The close packing of bacteria in these plastic-surface biofilms may accelerate the spread of drug-resistant pathogens through drinking water sources, though the full health implications remain poorly understood.
Microplastic-associated pathogens and antimicrobial resistance in environment
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This review examines how microplastics in the environment act as surfaces for disease-causing bacteria and antibiotic-resistant microbes to colonize and spread. Researchers found that microplastics can carry pathogens and facilitate the transfer of antimicrobial resistance genes between bacteria in water systems. The findings raise concerns that microplastic pollution may be contributing to the growing global challenge of antibiotic resistance.
Contribution of microplastic particles to the spread of resistances and pathogenic bacteria in treated wastewaters
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Researchers studied microplastic particles collected from treated wastewater effluents and found that MPs harbored significantly higher loads of antibiotic resistance genes and pathogenic bacteria compared to surrounding water, suggesting MPs facilitate their environmental spread.
Biofilm formation on microplastics and interactions with antibiotics, antibiotic resistance genes and pathogens in aquatic environment
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This review explains how microplastics in waterways develop bacterial biofilms on their surfaces that can harbor antibiotic-resistant bacteria and help spread antibiotic resistance genes to new environments. This is concerning for human health because these resistant microbes could eventually reach people through drinking water or seafood consumption.
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