Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment
Carbapenem-resistant bacteria (CRB) pose a significant threat to public health due to their resistance to last-resort antibiotics. Even though they are widely studied in clinical settings, much less is known about their presence in environmental compartments with multiple pathways contributing to th...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Sciendo
2025-06-01
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| Series: | Arhiv za Higijenu Rada i Toksikologiju |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3956 |
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| _version_ | 1849425071423094784 |
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| author | Dadić Blanka Hrenović Jasna Ivanković Tomislav |
| author_facet | Dadić Blanka Hrenović Jasna Ivanković Tomislav |
| author_sort | Dadić Blanka |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Carbapenem-resistant bacteria (CRB) pose a significant threat to public health due to their resistance to last-resort antibiotics. Even though they are widely studied in clinical settings, much less is known about their presence in environmental compartments with multiple pathways contributing to their dissemination, which raises a growing concern. The aim of this narrative review is to summarise the current knowledge about the occurrence, isolation, and characterisation of CRB in hospital and natural environments and to highlight their clinical relevance and environmental reservoirs. The CRB species pathogenic for humans – Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa – are often identified in hospital and urban sewage, wastewater treatment plants, water bodies, sediments, soil, animals, and plants. Their presence in these environments is largely attributed to anthropogenic factors such as the discharge of untreated or partially treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants. Suitable methods for CRB isolation include selective media, phenotypic assays, and molecular tools for species identification and resistance gene detection. This review also addresses the One Health approach, which stems from the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and environment in the spread of CRB. While the species-level transmission within the One Health framework is well-documented, further research is needed to establish strain-level dissemination patterns. Understanding the mechanisms of CRB persistence and transmission in diverse environments is crucial for developing effective mitigation strategies to curb their spread. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e87ed6655c6e4550beed7bc02cfebde2 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1848-6312 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-06-01 |
| publisher | Sciendo |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Arhiv za Higijenu Rada i Toksikologiju |
| spelling | doaj-art-e87ed6655c6e4550beed7bc02cfebde22025-08-20T03:29:53ZengSciendoArhiv za Higijenu Rada i Toksikologiju1848-63122025-06-017628710110.2478/aiht-2025-76-3956Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environmentDadić Blanka0Hrenović Jasna1Ivanković Tomislav2University of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Zagreb, CroatiaUniversity of Zagreb Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Zagreb, CroatiaCarbapenem-resistant bacteria (CRB) pose a significant threat to public health due to their resistance to last-resort antibiotics. Even though they are widely studied in clinical settings, much less is known about their presence in environmental compartments with multiple pathways contributing to their dissemination, which raises a growing concern. The aim of this narrative review is to summarise the current knowledge about the occurrence, isolation, and characterisation of CRB in hospital and natural environments and to highlight their clinical relevance and environmental reservoirs. The CRB species pathogenic for humans – Acinetobacter baumannii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa – are often identified in hospital and urban sewage, wastewater treatment plants, water bodies, sediments, soil, animals, and plants. Their presence in these environments is largely attributed to anthropogenic factors such as the discharge of untreated or partially treated effluent from wastewater treatment plants. Suitable methods for CRB isolation include selective media, phenotypic assays, and molecular tools for species identification and resistance gene detection. This review also addresses the One Health approach, which stems from the interconnectedness of humans, animals, and environment in the spread of CRB. While the species-level transmission within the One Health framework is well-documented, further research is needed to establish strain-level dissemination patterns. Understanding the mechanisms of CRB persistence and transmission in diverse environments is crucial for developing effective mitigation strategies to curb their spread.https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3956antibioticshospital environmentnatural environmentone health approachresistanceantibioticibolnički okoliškoncept jednog zdravljaprirodni okolišrezistencija |
| spellingShingle | Dadić Blanka Hrenović Jasna Ivanković Tomislav Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment Arhiv za Higijenu Rada i Toksikologiju antibiotics hospital environment natural environment one health approach resistance antibiotici bolnički okoliš koncept jednog zdravlja prirodni okoliš rezistencija |
| title | Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment |
| title_full | Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment |
| title_fullStr | Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment |
| title_full_unstemmed | Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment |
| title_short | Carbapenem-resistant bacteria in the environment |
| title_sort | carbapenem resistant bacteria in the environment |
| topic | antibiotics hospital environment natural environment one health approach resistance antibiotici bolnički okoliš koncept jednog zdravlja prirodni okoliš rezistencija |
| url | https://doi.org/10.2478/aiht-2025-76-3956 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT dadicblanka carbapenemresistantbacteriaintheenvironment AT hrenovicjasna carbapenemresistantbacteriaintheenvironment AT ivankovictomislav carbapenemresistantbacteriaintheenvironment |