Eintrag von Antibiotika und Antibiotikaresistenzen in Wassersysteme der Schweiz

Background

The evolution and spread of antibiotic resistance in bacterial pathogens is a serious problem. Both antibiotics and resistant organisms reach the aquatic environment, with wastewater or from agricultural sources. For this reason antibiotic resistance factors have been declared an emerging environmental contaminant.

Literature review

This paper provides a short review on the current state of research on this topic in Switzerland. Switzerland represents one of the countries with the lowest consumption of antibiotics in Europe and has a comparatively low incidence of resistant pathogens. The paper gives an overview on the situation in the medical field and agriculture but puts the main focus on the dissemination of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance into the water cycle. While the available data cannot provide a complete picture, there is solid evidence regarding the dissemination of antibiotics and resistance factors into the environment in Switzerland.

Conclusions

Since even the “best case” Switzerland experiences a considerable level of contamination with resistance factors, other European countries where the general conditions are less favorable are likely to experience more severe contamination. Additional stages for wastewater treatment may, in the context of an integrated strategy, be useful measures against the spread of resistance.