Bridging the gap between exposure to AMR in the environment and impact to human health

Environment

Surveillance

Transmission

Research Network: 2017-01-01 - 2017-12-31
Total sum awarded: €47 500

Exposure to antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment (water, soil, air) will impact human health involving complex interactions between bacteria and humans. Our network of experts, and advisors, will explore and summarize available tools and study protocols to systematically quantify environmental exposures to antibiotic resistant bacteria. Guidance will be given to standardise surveillance protocols and exposure assessments in order to increase current quantitative knowledge across borders. Detection methods and modelling approaches will be outlined on how to link exposure data and epidemiological data to health impacts from antibiotic resistant bacteria. This involves quantitative exposure assessments from environmental emissions, as well as model development for carriage, excretion, colonization, horizontal gene transfer and dose-response. This will provide guidance to funding agencies and researchers on how to integrate exposure assessments and human health impact assessment into surveillance programs, funding schemes and research proposals/ projects. Environmental transmission routes will be prioritised for future human health impact assessment studies. White papers to define a toolbox of existing approaches, best practices for study setups, and to identify research gaps will be produced by the two working groups responsible for developing guidelines and protocols for exposure assessments and human health impact assessment, respectively

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  • Ana Maria de Roda Husman, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands (Coordinator)
  • Mark Sobsey, University of North Carolina, USA (Observer)
  • Chuck Haas, Drexel University, USA (Observer)
  • Kate Medlicott, World Health Organization (WHO), Switzerland (Observer)
  • Nicholas Ashbolt, University of Alberta, Canada (Observer)
  • Paul Hunter, Norwich Medical School, United Kingdom (Observer)
  • Antoine Andremont, University Paris-Diderot Medical School, INSERM, France (Observer)
  • Jack Schijven, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands (Observer)
  • Heike Schmitt, National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), Netherlands (Observer)

Antimicrobial resistance threatens prevention and treatment of an increasing range of infections. Circulation of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) in the environment (water, soil, air) may significantly contribute to human exposure. However, information on exposure to ARB from environmental sources is scarce, and little is known about the complex relationships between environmental exposure to ARB and its health impact. With the working group set up in this project, available tools and study protocols to systematically study environmental exposures to ARB and to evaluate the associated health impact have been explored and summarized. Approaches on how to link exposure data and epidemiological data to health impacts from ARB have been described. These include quantitative exposure assessment from environmental emissions, as well as model development for carriage, excretion, colonization, horizontal gene transfer and dose-response, also including epidemiological studies. The results can serve as guidance to funding agencies and researchers on how to integrate EA and human health impact assessment (HHIA) into surveillance programs, funding schemes and research proposals/ projects.

Call

2016 - AMR Networks/Working Groups