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ARS Home » Plains Area » Lincoln, Nebraska » Agroecosystem Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #389396
Research Project: Managing Manure as a Soil Resource for Improved Biosecurity, Nutrient Availability, and Soil Sustainability

Location: Agroecosystem Management Research

Title: Performance efficiency of conventional treatment plants and constructed wetlands towards reduction of antibiotic resistance

Author
item HAZRA, MOUSHUMI - INDIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY
item Durso, Lisa

Submitted to: Antibiotics
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 1/12/2022
Publication Date: 1/16/2022
Citation: Harzra, M., Durso, L.M. 2022. Performance efficiency of conventional treatment plants and constructed wetlands towards reduction of antibiotic resistance. Antibiotics. 11(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11010114.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics11010114

Interpretive Summary: The bacteria that cause infections are becoming increasingly resistant to the antibiotic drugs we use to treat them, and there are concerns that antibiotic resistant bacteria can be spread via wastewater from homes, factories, hospitals, and farms. With many entry points to environmental components especially water and soil, wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) are considered a centralized control point for antibiotic resistance. In addition to conventional wastewater treatment plants, constructed wetlands are a sustainable “green” wastewater treatment option that can be used as an alternative to WWTP, or as a component of conventional WWTP. The present review summarizes how well conventional wastewater treatment processes and constructed wetlands are able to neutralize antibiotic drugs, antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes, with a focus on minimizing environmental transport of these targets.

Technical Abstract: Wastewater discharges from domestic and industrial sectors harbor rich bacterial communities, including both pathogenic and commensal organisms that are antibiotic resistant. Antibiotic resistant pathogens pose a potential threat for human and animal health. In wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) bacteria encounter an environment suitable for horizontal gene transfer, providing an opportunity for bacterial cells to acquire new antibiotic resistant (AR) genes. With many entry points to environmental components especially water and soil, WWTPs are considered a critical control point for antibiotic resistance. The primary and secondary units of conventional WWTPs are not designed for reduction of resistant microbes and hence appropriate technology needs to be employed for reduction of AR targets and other microbial pollutants. Constructed wetlands (CWs) are viable option for treatment of domestic and industrial wastewater in a sustainable manner, mitigating AR bacteria and their genes, pathogens, and general pollutants. Encouraging performance for removal of antibiotic resistance (2-4 logs) has highlighted the applicability of CW on fields, and their low cost of construction, operation and maintenance makes them well suited for applications across the globe especially in developing and low-income countries. The present review highlights a better understanding of the performance efficiency of conventional treatment plants and CWs for elimination/reduction of AR bacteria and their genes from wastewater. They are viable alternatives that can be used for secondary/tertiary treatment or polishing of effluents when in combination with WWTP, or in a decentralized manner.