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Author Spotlight: Understanding and Detecting Environmental Antimicrobial Resistance by Combining Culture-Based Techniques and Genomics
Published on: July 19, 2024
The Requirement of Genetic Diagnostic Technologies for Environmental Surveillance of Antimicrobial Resistance
Karine Caron1, Pascal Craw2, Mark B Richardson3
1CSIRO Health & Biosecurity, Canberra, ACT 2602, Australia.
Abstract:
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is threatening modern medicine. While the primary cost of AMR is paid in the healthcare domain, the agricultural and environmental domains are also reservoirs of resistant microorganisms and hence perpetual sources of AMR infections in humans. Consequently, the World Health Organisation and other international agencies are calling for surveillance of AMR in all three domains to guide intervention and risk reduction strategies. Technologies for detecting AMR that have been developed for healthcare settings are not immediately transferable to environmental and agricultural settings, and limited dialogue between the domains has hampered opportunities for cross-fertilisation to develop modified or new technologies. In this feature, we discuss the limitations of currently available AMR sensing technologies used in the clinic for sensing in other environments, and what is required to overcome these limitations.
Insights
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) surveillance is crucial across healthcare, agriculture, and the environment. Current detection technologies need adaptation for broader use, requiring interdisciplinary collaboration to combat AMR effectively.
Area of Science:
- One Health approach to infectious disease
- Environmental microbiology and public health
- Agricultural science and zoonotic disease
Background:
- Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a significant global health threat, extending beyond clinical settings.
- Agricultural and environmental sectors act as reservoirs for resistant microorganisms, contributing to human infections.
- International health organizations advocate for integrated AMR surveillance across human, animal, and environmental health domains.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the limitations of current clinical antimicrobial resistance (AMR) detection technologies.
- To identify the challenges in adapting these technologies for agricultural and environmental surveillance.
- To highlight the need for cross-domain dialogue and technological innovation.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing antimicrobial resistance (AMR) sensing technologies used in clinical settings.
- Analysis of the applicability and limitations of these technologies in agricultural and environmental contexts.
- Discussion of interdisciplinary requirements for developing novel AMR detection solutions.
Main Results:
- Clinical AMR detection technologies face significant hurdles in transferability to environmental and agricultural settings.
- Limited communication between healthcare, agriculture, and environmental sectors hinders technological development.
- Existing methods are often not optimized for the diverse matrices and lower pathogen loads in non-clinical environments.
Conclusions:
- Adaptation of AMR sensing technologies requires addressing specific environmental and agricultural challenges.
- Enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration is essential for developing effective, multi-domain AMR surveillance tools.
- Future strategies must focus on innovative, adaptable technologies to combat the One Health threat of AMR.
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