70th webinar in the Hebd'Eau series entitled "Investigating the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the water cycle" with Helena Ferreira Leal de Carvalho Toled
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Graduating in Microbiology and Immunology (BSc Magna Cum Laude) from the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ) in 2015, and holding a Master's degree in Biotechnology in Health and Investigative Medicine from the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation (Fiocruz) in 2017, Helena Toledo has a background focused on bacterial resistance and epidemiology. As part of her PhD, supervised by Dr. Caroline Quach and Dr. Émilie Bédard, she is studying the association between lifestyle habits and population behaviors and the prevalence of antimicrobial resistance in the water cycle.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) currently represents one of the top ten threats to global public health, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). It affects all areas of the environment, particularly aquatic environments. It is essential to study the prevalence of AMR in the water cycle and identify the factors associated with its spread, in order to mitigate them. In this presentation, the results of an assessment of the presence of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in three wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in a major Canadian city will be presented. Samples were collected between 2020 and 2022, at 16 sampling points across the urban water cycle. An analysis of the diversity and presence of 12 targeted ARGs was carried out. At the same time, a survey aimed at identifying perceptions and lifestyle habits favoring or preventing the transmission of AMR was circulated online to residents of this municipality. Preliminary results indicate the detection of ARGs in over 90% of wastewater samples. In addition, a significant reduction in bacterial load was observed between the influent and the wastewater effluent. Diversity analyses show that seasonal variations have a major impact on bacterial communities, underlining the potential importance of climate change in this context. Analysis of the initial survey results reveals a lack of knowledge about AMR, leading to behaviours that increase resistance, such as the use of non-prescription antimicrobials (28% of participants).
The presentation will be in French
