Transfer of Multidrug-Resistant Bacteria Between Intermingled Ecological Niches: The Interface Between Humans, Animals and the Environment

• Type: Another Publication in an International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2013

Authors

da costa, pm (Author) ICBAS; loureiro, l (Author) Other; matos, ajf (Author) ICBAS

Journal

Title: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health

Vol. 10

Pages: 278-294

ISSN: 1661-7827

Publisher: MDPI

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 7 Citations

Scopus - 7 Citations

Scientific classification

FOS: Natural sciences > Earth and related Environmental sciences

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-002-1S8

DOI: 10.3390/ijerph10010278

Abstract (EN): The use of antimicrobial agents has been claimed to be the driving force for the emergence and spread of microbial resistance. However, several studies have reported the presence of multidrug-resistant bacteria in populations exposed to low levels of antimicrobial drugs or even never exposed. For many pathogens, especially those organisms for which asymptomatic colonization typically precedes infection (e. g., Enterococcus spp. and Escherichia coli), the selective effects of antimicrobial use can only be understood if we considerer all biological and environmental pathways which enable these bacteria, and the genes they carry, to spread between different biomes. This ecological framework provides an essential perspective for formulating antimicrobial use policies, precisely because it encompasses the root causes of these problems rather than merely their consequences.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 17