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Antibiotic resistance monitoring in wastewater in the Nordic countries : A systematic review

Tiwari, Ananda ; Krolicka, Adriana ; Tran, Tam T. ; Räisänen, Kati ; Ásmundsdóttir, Ásta Margrét ; Wikmark, Odd Gunnar ; Lood, Rolf LU and Pitkänen, Tarja (2024) In Environmental Research 246.
Abstract

The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) have effectively kept lower antibiotic-resistant bacterial (ARB) pathogen rates than many other countries. However, in recent years, these five countries have encountered a rise in ARB cases and challenges in treating infections due to the growing prevalence of ARB pathogens. Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) is a valuable supplement to clinical methods for ARB surveillance, but there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of WBS application for ARB in the Nordic countries. This review aims to compile the latest state-of-the-art developments in WBS for ARB monitoring in the Nordic countries and compare them with clinical surveillance practices. After reviewing 1480... (More)

The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) have effectively kept lower antibiotic-resistant bacterial (ARB) pathogen rates than many other countries. However, in recent years, these five countries have encountered a rise in ARB cases and challenges in treating infections due to the growing prevalence of ARB pathogens. Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) is a valuable supplement to clinical methods for ARB surveillance, but there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of WBS application for ARB in the Nordic countries. This review aims to compile the latest state-of-the-art developments in WBS for ARB monitoring in the Nordic countries and compare them with clinical surveillance practices. After reviewing 1480 papers from the primary search, 54 were found relevant, and 15 additional WBS-related papers were included. Among 69 studies analyzed, 42 dedicated clinical epidemiology, while 27 focused on wastewater monitoring. The PRISMA review of the literature revealed that Nordic countries focus on four major WBS objectives of ARB: assessing ARB in the human population, identifying ARB evading wastewater treatment, quantifying removal rates, and evaluating potential ARB evolution during the treatment process. In both clinical and wastewater contexts, the most studied targets were pathogens producing carbapenemase and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), primarily Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. However, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have received more attention in clinical epidemiology than in wastewater studies, probably due to their lower detection rates in wastewater. Clinical surveillance has mostly used culturing, antibiotic susceptibility testing, and genotyping, but WBS employed PCR-based and metagenomics alongside culture-based techniques. Imported cases resulting from international travel and hospitalization abroad appear to have frequently contributed to the rise in ARB pathogen cases in these countries. The many similarities between the Nordic countries (e.g., knowledge exchange practices, antibiotic usage patterns, and the current ARB landscape) could facilitate collaborative efforts in developing and implementing WBS for ARB in population-level screening.

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author
; ; ; ; ; ; and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Antibiotic resistance, Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales, Clinical surveillance, Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase, Nordic, Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus
in
Environmental Research
volume
246
article number
118052
publisher
Elsevier
external identifiers
  • pmid:38163547
  • scopus:85182021488
ISSN
0013-9351
DOI
10.1016/j.envres.2023.118052
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
8d86a9e4-d9d4-4f06-893b-1ab2d193dedb
date added to LUP
2024-02-22 10:21:40
date last changed
2024-04-23 16:12:42
@article{8d86a9e4-d9d4-4f06-893b-1ab2d193dedb,
  abstract     = {{<p>The Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, and Sweden) have effectively kept lower antibiotic-resistant bacterial (ARB) pathogen rates than many other countries. However, in recent years, these five countries have encountered a rise in ARB cases and challenges in treating infections due to the growing prevalence of ARB pathogens. Wastewater-based surveillance (WBS) is a valuable supplement to clinical methods for ARB surveillance, but there is a lack of comprehensive understanding of WBS application for ARB in the Nordic countries. This review aims to compile the latest state-of-the-art developments in WBS for ARB monitoring in the Nordic countries and compare them with clinical surveillance practices. After reviewing 1480 papers from the primary search, 54 were found relevant, and 15 additional WBS-related papers were included. Among 69 studies analyzed, 42 dedicated clinical epidemiology, while 27 focused on wastewater monitoring. The PRISMA review of the literature revealed that Nordic countries focus on four major WBS objectives of ARB: assessing ARB in the human population, identifying ARB evading wastewater treatment, quantifying removal rates, and evaluating potential ARB evolution during the treatment process. In both clinical and wastewater contexts, the most studied targets were pathogens producing carbapenemase and extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL), primarily Escherichia coli and Klebsiella spp. However, vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus (VRE) and methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have received more attention in clinical epidemiology than in wastewater studies, probably due to their lower detection rates in wastewater. Clinical surveillance has mostly used culturing, antibiotic susceptibility testing, and genotyping, but WBS employed PCR-based and metagenomics alongside culture-based techniques. Imported cases resulting from international travel and hospitalization abroad appear to have frequently contributed to the rise in ARB pathogen cases in these countries. The many similarities between the Nordic countries (e.g., knowledge exchange practices, antibiotic usage patterns, and the current ARB landscape) could facilitate collaborative efforts in developing and implementing WBS for ARB in population-level screening.</p>}},
  author       = {{Tiwari, Ananda and Krolicka, Adriana and Tran, Tam T. and Räisänen, Kati and Ásmundsdóttir, Ásta Margrét and Wikmark, Odd Gunnar and Lood, Rolf and Pitkänen, Tarja}},
  issn         = {{0013-9351}},
  keywords     = {{Antibiotic resistance; Carbapenemase-producing Enterobacterales; Clinical surveillance; Extended-spectrum beta-lactamase; Nordic; Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{04}},
  publisher    = {{Elsevier}},
  series       = {{Environmental Research}},
  title        = {{Antibiotic resistance monitoring in wastewater in the Nordic countries : A systematic review}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2023.118052}},
  doi          = {{10.1016/j.envres.2023.118052}},
  volume       = {{246}},
  year         = {{2024}},
}