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A new study has shown that antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), discovered for the first time in urban India, have been discovered 12,000 km apart in one of the world's last "virgin" places.
Soil samples from the Kongsfjorden area of Svalbard have now confirmed the spread of blaNDM-1 in the High Arctic – an ARG originally found in Indian clinical environments, which conditionally ensures multidrug resistance to microorganisms.
The worldwide spread of blaNDM-1 and other MDR genes is a growing concern because they often target clbades of "last resort" antibiotics, including carbapenems.
The research team, led by Professor David Graham of the University of Newcastle, explains that blaNDM-1 and other ARGs of medical importance have been discovered in Arctic soils that have probably spread in the feces of birds, other wildlife. and human visitors to the area.
"The polar regions are among the last suspected virgin ecosystems on Earth, providing a platform to characterize the background resistance before the era of antibiotics and to understand the rates of progression of RA" pollution ". ", says Professor Graham, Environmental Engineer at Newcastle University. spent 15 years studying the environmental transmission of antibiotic resistance around the world.
"But less than three years after the first detection of the blaNDM-1 gene in the surface waters of urban India, we find it thousands of miles away in an area where human impact is minimal .
"The encroachment into regions such as the Arctic is increasing the speed and scope of the spread of antibiotic resistance, confirming that solutions to AR should be viewed holistically rather than locally."
Concerns about the spread of antibiotic resistant genes
The increase in antibiotic resistance is a global health crisis. NDM-1, for example, is a protein that can confer resistance to various bacteria. NDM-1 was identified for the first time in New Delhi and encoded by the blaNDM-1 resistant gene.
Strains carrying blaNDM-1 were first discovered in clinical settings in 2008, but in 2010, blaNDM-1 was found in surface water in Delhi. Since then, the resistant gene has been found in more than 100 countries, including new variants.
There are currently few antibiotics to combat carbapenem-resistant bacteria – which still constitute a clbad of antibiotics of last resort – and the global spread of blaNDM-1 and related ARGs is a cause for concern.
"What humans have done with the excessive use of antibiotics on a global scale, is to accelerate the pace of evolution, creating a new world of resistant strains that did not exist before, "says Graham.
"Due to overconsumption of antibiotics, fecal releases and contamination of the drinking water, we have accelerated the rate of evolution of superbugs.
"For example, when a new drug is developed, natural bacteria can quickly adapt and become resistant, so very few new drugs are being prepared because their manufacture simply is not cost-effective. "
Benchmark for monitoring resistance
Posted today in the academic journal International environmentThis latest study was conducted by an international team of experts from the Universities of Newcastle, York and Kansas and the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Xiamen. It has been funded by the UK Council for Environmental Research and other bodies.
By badyzing the DNA extracted from forty soil cores located at eight locations along Kongsfjorden, 131 ARGs were detected.
"The resistance genes detected were badociated with nine major clbades of antibiotics, including aminoglycosides, macrolides, and β-lactams, which are used to treat many infections, for example, a gene conferring MR in TB. was found in all carrots, while blaNDM-1 was detected in more than 60% of the soil cores of the study.
"This discovery has huge implications for the global spread of RA," warns Graham. "A clinically important ARG originating in Southeast Asia is clearly not" local "in the Arctic."
"Identifying a" gradient "ARG in the landscape at the study, which varies depending on the impact of man and wildlife, shows that it still exists isolated polar areas where ARG levels are so low that they could provide the basis for antimicrobial resistance in nature, "Graham said.
"The gradient of resistance genes closely reflects the corresponding waste indicators in geochemistry, suggesting a new basis for site identification for future research on antimicrobial resistance," adds Dr. Clare McCann, author principal, from the University of Newcastle.
"The only way to win this fight is to understand all the pathways that lead to antibiotic resistance.
It is clear that improving the management of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture is crucial, but it is also essential to understand how the transmission of resistance occurs through water and soils. We argue that improving waste management and water quality on a global scale is a key step. "
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