Conflict with the Natural World

Abstract

Environments have been sampled and found to include bacteria resistant to antibiotics and disinfectants in waste water, surface water, ground water, sediments, and soils. Antibiotics find their way into the environment after being employed for medical reasons, for agricultural and animal growth, and for industrial uses such as in aquaculture. There has been a recent uptick in worries about the ecotoxic effects of infections and their rising resistance to treatment. The environmental impact of antibiotic resistance is increasingly being acknowledged. This requires knowledge of the ecology of both resistant bacteria and the genes that give resistance. Little is known regarding the effects of subinhibitory concentrations of antibiotics and disinfectants on environmental microorganisms, especially with relation to resistance. Based on what we know now, the impact of antibacterials in the environment on the spread of resistance is questionable at best. The introduction of resistant microbes seems to be a major source of resistance in the environment. The potential consequences for ecosystems of bacterial resistance are still unclear. More research is required on these worries.