Ethics, Science, and Antimicrobial Resistance

The issue of regularly feeding low levels of antibiotics to farm animals in order to increase productivity is often portrayed as a dilemma. On the one hand, such antibiotic use is depicted as a necessary condition for producing cheap and plentiful food, such that were such use to stop, food prices would rise significantly and our ability to feed people in developing nations would decrease. On the other hand, such antibiotic use seems to breed antibiotic resistance into pathogens affecting human health. Resolving this dilemma, it is alleged, will require great amounts of research into risk/benefit assessment. Contrary to this claim, we will argue that society has all the data it needs to make a reasonable ethical decision, which would be curtailing such use. Such curtailment will not harm consumers significantly, will not harm developing nations' evolving agriculture, and could produce hitherto unnoticed benefits, namely restoring the possibility of a more husbandry-based, sustainable agriculture to replace the high-tech agriculture that has hurt animals, the environment, small farms, and sustainability.     

Antimicrobial susceptibility of Escherichia coli isolated from shrimp (Litopenaeus vannamei) and pond environment in northeastern Brazil

This study aimed to test the susceptibility of Escherichia coli strains isolated from the water, bottom sediments and individuals cultivated in shrimp farm ponds, to antibiotics belonging to different families, namely B-Lactams: Imipenem (IPM; 10 μ g), Ampicillin (AMP; 10 μ g), Cephalothin (CEP; 30 μ g), Cefoxitin (FOX; 30 μ g), Ceftriaxone (CRO; 30 μ g); Tetracycline: Tetracycline (TCY; 30 μ g); Aminoglycosides: Gentamicin (GEN; 10 μ g), Amikacin (AMK; 30 μ g); Chloramphenicol: Chloramphenicol (CHO; 30 μ g); Fluoroquinolones: Ciprofloxacin (CIP; 5 μ g); Nitrofurans: Nitrofurantoin (NIT; 300 μ g); Sulfonamides: Trimethoprim-Sulfamethoxazole (SXT; 30 μ g); Quilononas: Nalidixic Acid (NAL; 30 μ g). In the laboratory, the method of dissemination (Test Kirby-Bauer) was performed in order to fulfill the antibiogram tests. The results showed high indices of resistance to Imipenem, Cephalothin and Ampicillin. Chloramphenicol, Nitrofurantoin, Cefoxitin, Ceftiaxone and Ciprofloxacin have displayed the highest index of sensitive strains. The antibiotic resistance index (ARI) and the multiple resistance index (MAR) varied within the ranges of 0.068–0.077 and 0.15–0.39, respectively. More than 90.5% of strains of Escherichia coli showed a variety of resistance profiles to the tested antibiotics. The high indices of resistance may be a consequence of indiscriminate use of antibiotics, but also the transfer of resistance through mobile genetic elements found in shrimp farms.     

The prevalence of bacterial resistance in clinical, food, water and some environmental samples in Southwest Nigeria

The resistance pattern and mechanisms of bacterial isolates obtained from clinical origin, soil, industrial effluent, orange juice products and drinking water were studied using commonly used antibiotics. The microbial load of the water samples, industrial effluent and orange juice products were 1.0 × 10¹–2.25 × 10⁶, 2.15 × 10⁵, and 3.5 × 10⁴–2.15 × 10⁵ cfu mL^–1, respectively. The faecal coliform test revealed that only two out of twenty orange juice products had MPN of 2 and 20, the MPN of water ranged from 1–1800, while the effluent had MPN of 1800. The bacterial isolates that were isolated include E. coli, S. aureus, P. vulgaris, S. marcescens, S. pyogenes, B. cereus, B. subtilis, Micrococcus sp., Klebsiella sp., P. aeruginosa, and Enterobacter sp. Also, clinical and soil isolates of P. aeruginosa were used in the study. Among the eight antibiotics tested for resistance on five strains of each bacterium, seven different resistance patterns were observed among the bacterial isolates obtained from water, effluent and orange juice products. Among the clinical and soil isolates of P. aeruginosa, four multiple-drug resistance patterns were obtained. Thirty strains of E. coli and S. aureus were tested for -lactamase production and fourteen strains, seven each of E. coli and S. aureus that had high Minimum Inhibitory Concentration values (MIC) for both Amoxycillin and Cloxacillin were positive.     

Removal of veterinary antibiotics from anaerobically digested swine wastewater using an intermittently aerated sequencing batch reactor

A lab-scale intermittently aerated sequencing batch reactor(IASBR)was applied to treat anaerobically digested swine wastewater(ADSW)to explore the removal characteristics of veterinary antibiotics.The removal rates of 11 veterinary antibiotics in the reactor were investigated under different chemical organic demand(COD)volumetric loadings,solid retention times(SRT)and ratios of COD to total nitrogen(TN)or COD/TN.Both sludge sorption and biodegradation were found to be the major contributors to the removal of veterinary antibiotics.Mass balance analysis revealed that greater than 60%of antibiotics in the influent were biodegraded in the IASBR,whereas averagely 24%were adsorbed by sludge under the condition that sludge sorption gradually reached its equilibrium.Results showed that the removal of antibiotics was greatly influenced by chemical oxygen demand(COD)volumetric loadings,which could achieve up to 85.1%±1.4%at 0.17±0.041 kg COD/m-3/day,while dropped to 75.9%±1.3%and 49.3%±12.1%when COD volumetric loading increased to 0.65±0.032 and1.07±0.073 kg COD/m-3/day,respectively.Tetracyclines,the dominant antibiotics in ADSW,were removed by 87.9%in total at the lowest COD loading,of which 30.4%were contributed by sludge sorption and 57.5%by biodegradation,respectively.In contrast,sulfonamides were removed about 96.2%,almost by biodegradation.Long SRT seemed to have little obvious impact on antibiotics removal,while a shorter SRT of 30–40 day could reduce the accumulated amount of antibiotics and the balanced antibiotics sorption capacity of sludge.Influent COD/TN ratio was found not a key impact factor for veterinary antibiotics removal in this work.     

莲花水库水体中抗生素污染特征及生态风险评价

采用固相萃取-高效液相色谱串联质谱法对厦门市新建饮用水源地莲花水库中4类(四环素类、喹诺酮类、大环内酯类和磺胺类)13种典型抗生素进行了检测,并评价了其污染特征和生态风险等级.结果表明,除红霉素、磺胺二甲嘧啶和磺胺甲■唑外,其余10种抗生素均有不同程度检出,总浓度范围为n.d.～925.26 ng·L~(-1).其中阿奇霉素的浓度最高(n.d.～232.61 ng·L~(-1)),检出率为75%;其次为恩诺沙星(n.d.～187.69ng·L~(-1))、四环素(n.d.～155.05 ng·L~(-1))和环丙沙星(n.d.～83.66 ng·L~(-1)),检出率均超过60%.抗生素浓度随采样点呈现出上游莲花溪S1澳溪支流S2库区下游S3入库口S4库区中心S5的趋势.抗生素季节分布特征较为明显,枯水期总浓度明显高于丰水期和平水期.生态环境风险评价表明氧氟沙星、恩诺沙星和环丙沙星的生态环境风险较高,环丙沙星为主要风险因子;枯水期的抗生素联合风险商值比丰水期和平水期高,且大于1,对生态环境存在较高风险,应引起相关部门足够重视.     

重庆市畜禽粪便及菜田土壤中四环素类抗生素生态风险评价

近年来新型有机污染物抗生素在环境中的残留及对生态环境的风险成为国内外研究的热点.在畜禽养殖业中四环素类抗生素（tetracycline antibiotics,TCs）使用量最大,在畜禽粪便中的残留量也最高.本文采用调查研究结合室内分析,客观评价了重庆市主要大型养殖场畜禽粪便和主要蔬菜基地菜田土壤中3种农用四环素类抗生素[土霉素（OTC）、四环素（TC）和金霉素（CTC）]可能存在的环境生态风险.结果表明,2014年猪粪和鸡粪中的OTC、TC、CTC和TCs总量∑TCs的平均值分别为13.05、91.81、62.48、167.34 mg·kg^-1和4.25、4.6、28.55、37.40 mg·kg^-1.2019年所调查的样品中猪粪和鸡粪中的OTC、TC、CTC和∑TCs平均含量分别为3.39、4.82、5.92、15.95 mg·kg^-1和1.10、1.35、4.22、5.16 mg·kg^-1,相比2014年,2019年重庆市畜禽粪便中TCs含量有大幅度的下降,TCs的检出率也有所降低.鸡粪中的TCs生态风险较猪粪要低,2019年畜禽粪便中的TCs生态风险较2014年大幅度降低,不同抗生素间总体比较,风险商值以CTC > OTC > TC.重庆主要蔬菜基地及周边地区菜田土壤中OTC、TC、CTC和∑TCs的平均含量分别为18.92、39.10、21.80和79.81 μg·kg^-1.TCs含量大小顺序为养殖场附近菜田 > 无公害蔬菜基地 > 普通菜田;在养殖场附近的菜田中,露地TCs含量普遍高于大棚,而在无公害蔬菜基地,TCs含量表现为大棚 > 露地.从菜田TCs的生态风险商值整体上看,各类种植模式下的HQ均<1,即无高风险.3种TCs的HQ值以CTC > OTC > TC.土壤∑TCs含量以叶菜类 > 瓜类 > 茄果类 > 豆类,种植不同类型蔬菜的菜田土壤TCs含量略有差异,可能跟不同蔬菜栽培模式、畜禽粪便种类及施肥量有关系.     

冀西北典型北方小城镇污水处理厂中抗生素的分布和去除

抗生素在环境中作为一种新型污染物,是目前污水处理厂中重要的污染物之一.为考察小城镇污水处理厂对抗生素的去除效果,选择3种典型小城镇污水处理工艺(CASS、A~2/O及Orbal氧化沟工艺),研究了4种四环素类、3种β-内酰胺类、4种大环内酯类、3种喹诺酮类和2种磺胺类在进出水中的浓度分布、去除情况以及不同工艺抗生素去除效率,并对抗生素浓度与水质常规指标的相关性进行分析.结果表明,所研究的污水处理厂中氧氟沙星和诺氟沙星为主要抗生素,并且去除效果较好.5个污水处理厂运行情况良好,CASS工艺和Orbal氧化沟工艺对大部分抗生素的去除效果比A~2/O工艺好,抗生素去除率均能达到60%以上.同时,发现CASS工艺和A~2/O工艺对β-内酰胺类(氨苄西林、青霉素)、喹诺酮类(恩诺沙星、氧氟沙星和诺氟沙星)和大环内酯类(克拉霉素)的去除效果最好,Orbal氧化沟工艺对四环素类(四环素、土霉素)和磺胺类(磺胺嘧啶)的去除效果最好.将抗生素浓度和水质基本参数(NH_4~+-N、TN、COD、pH等)进行相关性分析后,发现抗生素浓度与水质基本参数NH_4~+-N、COD呈一定正相关,污染物浓度越高,红霉素(EM)、罗红霉素(ROX)、差向四环素盐酸盐(ETC)、克拉霉素(CLR)、环丙沙星(CIP)、氧氟沙星(OFX)、差向土霉素(E-OTC)、四环素(TC)、土霉素(OTC)以及诺氟沙星(NOR)的浓度也相对更高,这为确保小城镇污水厂的稳定运行,降低抗生素类污染物的生态风险提供了重要参考.     

华东地区某饮用水源地中磺胺类抗性基因的分布特征

饮用水源中检测到的抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)对饮用水质安全和人体健康产生的潜在威胁受到广泛关注.在掌握了华东地区某饮用水源地13种磺胺类抗生素的污染特征基础上,进一步采用定性PCR和荧光定量PCR解析该饮用水源水和底泥中磺胺类ARGs(sul1、sul2)以及抗性基因可转移元件Ⅰ型整合酶基因(int I1)的分布特征.结果表明,3种基因在该饮用水源水和底泥中均100%检出,sul1基因是该饮用水源地中检出含量最高的磺胺类ARGs,在水源水中含量范围为1.5×104~6.4×105copies·mL~(-1),底泥中则高达1.6×108copies·g~(-1),较sul2、int I1基因分别高0.6~2.2、0.5~1.9个数量级.sul1、sul2和int I1基因在该水源地入水口和出水口处的绝对含量无显著差别,而在底泥中sul1、sul2和int I1基因的绝对含量则是出水口高于入水口.sul1在夏季水源地出水口的检出含量最高,为6.4×105copies·mL~(-1);int I1基因在冬季的检出含量高于其他季节.sul1基因与13种磺胺类抗生素具有相关性(r=0.69,P0.05),其中与磺胺甲唑的含量显著相关(r=0.79,P0.01);int I1与sul1、sul2的相对含量之间也存在正相关关系(r为0.80和0.73,P0.05),这表明int I1在磺胺类ARGs的水平转移过程中起到了重要作用.本研究为典型饮用水源地中ARGs的污染现状提供基础数据,也为管控饮用水环境的抗性基因污染和制定管理决策提供依据.     

Influence of Agricultural Antibiotics and 17β-Estradiol on the Microbial Community of Soil

Agricultural pharmaceuticals are a major environmental concern because of their hazardous effects on human and wildlife. This study analyzed phospholipid ester-linked fatty acids (PLFAs) and quinones to investigate the effects of a steroid (17β-estradiol) and agricultural antibiotics (chlortetracycline and tylosin) on soil microbes in the laboratory. Two different types of soil were used: Sequatchie loam (0.8% organic matter) and LaDelle silt loam (9.2% organic matter). The soils were spiked with 17β-estradiol and antibiotics, alone or in combination. In Sequatchie loam, 17β-estradiol significantly increased the microbial biomass, especially the biomarkers for beta proteobacteria (16:1ω7c, 18:1ω7c, Cy17:0, and UQ-8). The coexistence of antibiotics decreased the stimulatory effect of 17β-estradiol on the microbial community. In LaDelle silt loam, there were no significant differences in total microbial biomass and their microbial community structure among the treatments. Overall, 17β-estradiol changed the microbial community of soil and the presence of antibiotics nullified the effect of 17β-estradiol. However, the effects of 17β-estradiol and antibiotics on soil microbes were sensitive to the soil properties, as seen in the LaDelle silt loam.     

我国典型制药厂污染场地中抗生素的污染特征及生态风险

为了解制药厂污染场地中抗生素的污染特征和生态风险，选取南、北方两个典型抗生素制药厂，采集表层土、土壤柱、工艺水、地下水和药渣等样品，采用超声提取-固相萃取-高效液相色谱串联质谱技术对87 种常见抗生素进行定量分析.结果显示，所有类型样品中共检出5类31 种抗生素，各采样点总抗生素在表层土、土壤柱、药渣中的含量最大值以及工艺水、地下水中的浓度最大值分别为420 ng·g^-1、595 ng·g^-1、139 ng·g^-1以及1 151 ng·L^-1、6.65 ng·L^-1；大部分抗生素赋存于表层土，随土壤柱深度呈现向下递减规律.生态风险评价表明，磺胺二甲嘧啶、磺胺喹喔啉、四环素、氯四环素和D-山梨醇等存在较高风险.提高制药废水中抗生素去除效率，预防生产车间泄漏，是控制制药厂抗生素向场地内及周边环境污染的有效手段.