Wastewater: a surveillance sentinel for bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance dissemination

Kyger, Kristen Jean (2023) Wastewater: a surveillance sentinel for bacterial pathogens and antimicrobial resistance dissemination. Masters thesis, Northern Arizona University.

Text Kyger_2023_wastewater_surveillance_sentinel_bacterial_pathogens_antimi.pdf - Published Version Download (1MB)

Abstract

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has emerged as one of the most significant global public health concerns, threatening the effective prevention and treatment of an ever-increasing range of infections caused by bacteria no longer susceptible to the common therapeutics used to treat them. The wide range of resistant infections, with decreasing treatment options, is leading to increased morbidity and mortality. Antimicrobial resistant bacteria can easily spread through the environment, and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are recognized as a reservoir for AMR pathogens and genes. Although water reclamation is vital to the sustainability of water supplies, the highly diverse microbial environment in wastewater creates favorable conditions for the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance genes as well as the proliferation of resistant bacteria. Current wastewater testing methods fail to take into consideration AMR bacteria and AMR genes when evaluating the overall safety aspects of water reuse. In this study, AMR bacteria isolated from Southwestern United States (U.S.) wastewater were interrogated through meropenem antimicrobial susceptibility testing, 16S rRNA gene sequencing, multiplex species identification amplicon sequencing, and whole genome sequencing to identify the human pathogens present in the wastewater and determine if viable meropenem resistant bacteria persist in wastewater after treatment. Molecular assays, such as those developed in this study, represent a comprehensive and minimally invasive approach to provide community level surveillance of AMR pathogens as well as identify viable resistant bacteria present in wastewater. The application of AMR wastewater surveillance allows for better understanding of the risk of transmission of harmful bacteria to humans as well as inform decisions on safe reclaimed effluent water reuse.

Item Type:	Thesis (Masters)
Publisher’s Statement:	© Copyright is held by the author. Digital access to this material is made possible by the Cline Library, Northern Arizona University. Further transmission, reproduction or presentation of protected items is prohibited except with permission of the author.
Keywords:	Amplicon Sequencing; Antimicrobial resistance (AMR); Etest; Meropenem; Wastewater; Whole Genome Sequencing
Subjects:	R Medicine > RB Pathology
MeSH Subjects:	B Organisms > B03 Bacteria
NAU Depositing Author Academic Status:	Student
Department/Unit:	Graduate College > Theses and Dissertations College of the Environment, Forestry, and Natural Sciences > Biological Sciences
Date Deposited:	19 May 2025 16:51
Last Modified:	19 May 2025 16:51
URI:	https://openknowledge.nau.edu/id/eprint/6149

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