The Antibiotic Resistance – SGGW scientists struggle with the global challenge

– PhageLand –

Antibiotic Resistance – the global issue

The prevalence of antibiotic resistance has become a global problem and a real threat to public health. Municipal wastewater was identified as a possible source of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes spreading over other environments. Therefore, new, low-cost and eco-friendly technologies are needed to purify wastewater from antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes.

The main target – an innovative strategy

Phageland project aims to develop a novel intervention strategy to prevent the transmission of antibiotic resistance from wastewater into surface waters. The prevalence of antibiotic resistance has become a global problem and a real threat to public health, says Dr Małgorzata Grzesiuk-Bieniek, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology, Institute of Biology, SGGW. We need new, low-cost, and eco-friendly technologies to purify wastewater from antibiotics, antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic-resistance genes.

PhageLand includes public health investigations targeting multidrug-resistant bacterial (ARB) pathogens in low-middle income countries (LMICs) in Eastern Europe. The phage-based treatment will be specifically tailored to eliminate these multidrug-resistant pathogens from wastewater. In parallel, PhageLand aims to assess: a) the self-purification capacity of model full-scale CWs operating in Spain and Moldova in removing antibiotic residues, ARB and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs); and b) the potential risk associated with the dissemination of ARB and ARGs within indigenous bacterial communities and among animals inhabiting CWs.

The Method

Experimental tasks will include field and laboratory experiments involving cutting-edge chemical, biotechnological and (meta)genomic techniques as well as animal testing. Finally, a pilot-scale infrastructure will be used to scale up the PhageLand technology and to assess its performance under real environmental conditions. This proof-of-concept will be used to demonstrate the efficacy and scalability of this nature-based technology for combating AR and to encourage stakeholders for its implementation in wastewater treatment, particularly in LMICs where costly and power-demanding treatment plants are difficult to set up.