Are rising air pollution and PM 2.5 directly linked to antibiotic resistance? Yes, says Lancet study

PM 2.5 carries abundant antibiotic resistance-determinant genes. These levels are higher than what is found in sediments, soil, rivers and some engineering treatment systems. Humans could be directly exposed to antibiotic-resistant elements while inhaling air pollutants. And why is this dangerous? Because the daily intake of antibiotic-resistant genes through inhalation exceeds what you would through drinking water. Antibiotic-resistance elements in PM 2.5 can be replenished from the natural environment and anthropogenic settings (eg, hospitals, farms, and sewage-treatment facilities) through wind action, water evaporation, dust transport, and wet or dry settlement spread over long distances and across regions. However, most surface aerosols below the convective boundary layer, which carry antibiotic-resistant bacteria and genes, might not reach the high atmospheric altitudes necessary to travel intercontinental distances. Furthermore, PM 2.5 can facilitate the horizontal gene transfer of antibiotic-resistant genes between bacteria.

Also, the overuse of antibiotics in humans and animals exacerbates the emergence of antibiotic-resistant elements, which can be primarily discharged into environment via waste water, agricultural manure application, or evaporation. On many occasions, these antibiotic-resistant elements can be transferred from environmental micro-organisms to human pathogens through drinking water, food and air inhalation. The environment can cross regional boundaries and spread antibiotic resistance over long distances and on a large scale, which could be a crucial link between the dissemination of environmental and human antibiotic resistance.

WHAT ARE SOURCES OF PM 2.5?

Sources of PM 2.5 include industrial processes, road transport and domestic coal and wood burning. Recent findings indicate 7.3 billion people globally are directly exposed to unsafe average annual PM 2.5 levels, with 80 per cent living in low- and middle-income countries. Data sources included surveillance databases, the World Health Organisation, European Environment Agency and the World Bank.

Antibiotic resistance is a serious health issue, causing approximately 1.27 million premature deaths in 2019 worldwide, substantially exceeding the estimated 0.70 million deaths in 2016. “Although air is recognised as being a direct pathway and key vector for disseminating antibiotic resistance, there is limited quantitative data on the different pathways that antibiotic-resistant genes are carried via air pollution. Some potential pathways include hospitals, farms and sewage-treatment facilities that emit and spread antibiotic-resistant particles through the air and across distances,” said lead author, Professor Hong Chen, of Zhejiang University, China. He feels that the benefits of controlling air pollution could be two-fold. Not only will it reduce the harmful effects of poor air quality, it could also play a major role in combating the rise and spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

WHAT THE STUDY MEANS FOR INDIA

“The new observation is that air pollution is one more method by which microbial resistance is spreading. Researchers have found that the exhaust emissions from the hospital buildings contain aerosols loaded with bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes,” says Dr Rajeev Jayadevan, a member of the public health advisory panel of the Indian Medical Association, Kerala, who was not involved with the study. “Now these tiny invisible particles or PM 2.5 can carry bacteria and the antibiotic resistant genes over long distances,” he adds.

Dr Jayadevan says that more research is needed to confirm the authors’ hypothesis that when suspended air particles are breathed into the lungs or deposited in the environment, the genes could enter the bacteria that are already living in the human body and make them resistant. “This is a certainly plausible hypothesis and makes a strong case for controlling air pollution,” he adds. Dr Renu Bharadwaj, former head of the Department of Microbiology, B J Government Medical College, says at this rate, “We may soon be reaching the pre-antibiotic era and have no antibiotics in our hands to treat serious infections.” She calls for ending the misuse of antibiotics in veterinary and clinical practice, resulting in the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant genes in our environment. “Such genes coming in contact with a sensitive bacteria is likely to make it resistant to commonly used antibiotics. So while controlling air pollution is important, there is a need for strict control on the use of antibiotics,” she adds.

Also Read

Can sugar in fruits trigger weight gain? A new study uncovers how fruit s...

New Covid variant ERIS detected in India: Know the symptoms and risk fact...

Kannada actor’s wife Spandana, 44, dies of heart attack: What are unknown...

Pepperfry co-founder Ambareesh Murthy dies in Leh: What triggers cardiac ...

According to study researchers, no action would just worsen the negative effect on health caused by increasing air pollution and antibiotic resistance, especially with the global population approaching 9.7 billion by 2050. North Africa and West Asia are the regions with the most severe PM 2.5 pollution. Policies in PM 2.5 control in these regions might lead to substantial changes in antibiotic resistance as suggested by the finding that deaths could be reduced in 2050 if the 5 µg/m³ PM2.5 target set by WHO is met.