Fluoroquinolones and qnr genes in sediment, well water, soil and human fecal flora in an Indian environment polluted by drug manufacturing
Journal article, 2014

There is increasing concern that environmental antibiotic pollution promotes transfer of resistance genes to the human microbiota. Here, fluoroquinolone-polluted river sediment, well water, irrigated farmland, and human fecal flora of local villagers within a pharmaceutical industrial region in India were analyzed for quinolone resistance (qnr) genes by quantitative PCR. Similar samples from Indian villages farther away from industrial areas, as well as fecal samples from Swedish study participants and river sediment from Sweden, were included for comparison. Fluoroquinolones were detected by MS/MS in well water and soil from all villages located within three km from industrially polluted waterways. Quinolone resistance genes were detected in 42% of well water, 7% of soil samples and in 100% and 18% of Indian and Swedish river sediments, respectively. High antibiotic concentrations in Indian sediment coincided with high abundances of qnr, whereas lower fluoroquinolone levels in well water and soil did not. We could not find support for an enrichment of qnr in fecal samples from people living in the fluoroquinolone-contaminated villages. However, as qnr was detected in 91% of all Indian fecal samples (24% of the Swedish) it suggests that the spread of qnr between people is currently a dominating transmission route.

Author

Carolin Rutgersson

University of Gothenburg

Jerker Fick

Umeå University

Nachiket Marathe

University of Gothenburg

Erik Kristiansson

University of Gothenburg

Chalmers, Mathematical Sciences, Mathematical Statistics

Anders Janzon

University of Gothenburg

Martin Angelin

Umeå University

Anders Johansson

Umeå University

Yogesh S Shouche

National Centre for Cell Science India

Carl-Fredrik Flach

University of Gothenburg

D. G. Joakim Larsson

University of Gothenburg

Environmental Science & Technology

0013-936X (ISSN) 1520-5851 (eISSN)

Vol. 48 14 7825−7832-7832

Subject Categories

Biological Sciences

Microbiology

DOI

10.1021/es501452a

PubMed

24988042

More information

Latest update

4/6/2022 5