The diversity of mobilome and resistome of Polish hospital wastewater
Antimicrobials have been used for many years to treat bacterial infections in humans, in both hospital and community sectors, which resulted in the emergence and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within clinical and environmental pathogens. Unmetabolized by living organisms, antibiotics, their transformation products, as well as antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) enter hospital wastewater, which, without being pretreated in hospital wastewater treatment plants, can be transferred to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). It is assumed that hospital wastewater discharged to WWTPs is the main anthropogenic source of antibiotics, ARB and ARGs in municipal wastewater, which are then released together with treated wastewater into surface water reservoirs and other elements of the environment. Among the diverse pool of drugs, ARB and ARGs, there are so-called reserve drugs, the priority pathogens with critically high resistance to reserve antibiotics and genes encoding this resistance. Therefore, the main goal of the project is to include Poland in extensive research on the spread of resistance to reserve antimicrobials. As a final result, the research can be used to clarify the requirements for hospitals and other health care facilities regarding the use of disinfection of wastewater discharged from individual facilities, as well as the requirements for the microbiological quality of wastewater entering the WWTPs.  Grant No. 2022/45/B/NZ7/00793 entitled: ”Reserved antibiotics and critical priority pathogens in hospital wastewater as an indicator of sanitary-epidemiological risk” from the National Science Centre (Poland) supported this study.
Antimicrobials have been used for many years to treat bacterial infections in humans, in both hospital and community sectors, which resulted in the emergence and persistence of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within clinical and environmental pathogens. Unmetabolized by living organisms, antibiotics, their transformation products, as well as antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) enter hospital wastewater, which, without being pretreated in hospital wastewater treatment plants, can be transferred to municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). It is assumed that hospital wastewater discharged to WWTPs is the main anthropogenic source of antibiotics, ARB and ARGs in municipal wastewater, which are then released together with treated wastewater into surface water reservoirs and other elements of the environment. Among the diverse pool of drugs, ARB and ARGs, there are so-called reserve drugs, the priority pathogens with critically high resistance to reserve antibiotics and genes encoding this resistance. Therefore, the main goal of the project is to include Poland in extensive research on the spread of resistance to reserve antimicrobials. As a final result, the research can be used to clarify the requirements for hospitals and other health care facilities regarding the use of disinfection of wastewater discharged from individual facilities, as well as the requirements for the microbiological quality of wastewater entering the WWTPs.  Grant No. 2022/45/B/NZ7/00793 entitled: ”Reserved antibiotics and critical priority pathogens in hospital wastewater as an indicator of sanitary-epidemiological risk” from the National Science Centre (Poland) supported this study.