Antibiotics and Environment—Research and Development Toward the One Health Approach, 2nd Edition

A Special Issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382) belonging to the section "Mechanism and Evolution of Antibiotic Resistance".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 December 2026 | Viewed by 1528

Editor


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Guest Editor
Department of Pharmacy, Osaka Medical and Pharmaceutical University, 4-20-1 Nasahara, Takatsuki 569-1094, Osaka, Japan
Interests: antibiotics; antimicrobial resistant bacteria; antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs); occurrence; wastewater; river; aquatic environment; ecotoxicity; antimicrobial-resistance (AMR); advanced water treatment; environmental risk assessment
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Across the world, research is being undertaken on health and environmental risk assessments and countermeasures against antimicrobial resistance (AMR). The spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is a source of increasing concern regarding the future of antimicrobial use and other measures of controlling infectious diseases, and the problem of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is now considered a key issue requiring urgent countermeasures and effective action from the World Health Organization (WHO). In addition to clinical cases, community-acquired infections caused by healthy carriers and outbreaks of antimicrobial-resistant strains originating from livestock, fisheries, and other industries are becoming problematic. It is essential that we comprehensively understand trends in antimicrobial-resistant bacteria on a global scale, and a One Health approach is ideal in combating all these problems. The problem of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in the environment manifests itself in a wide variety of systems originating from humans and animals that occur simultaneously, in a complex mixture. Assessing the present situation, clarifying occurrence and fate in the environment, assessing environmental risks, and taking effective measures to reduce or mitigate risks are methods that can provide useful knowledge in finding a point of coexistence between modern, affluent lifestyles and sustainable human existence.

This Special Issue will explore the topics of antimicrobials and the environment or antimicrobial-resistant bacteria and antimicrobials in the environment, looking at broad environmental spaces, including rivers, lakes, marine areas, water treatment plants, wastewater treatment plants, and animal and livestock facilities. We invite research papers on the current situation in terms of occurrence and dynamics, as well as purification methods that could be effective in reducing or mitigating human and animal health risks. For this Special Issue, we also welcome review articles that propose the development of analytical methods based on novel approaches, summarize past research cases, and propose future measures to combat antimicrobial-resistant bacteria through the One Health approach.

Dr. Takashi Azuma
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Antibiotics is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • antimicrobial resistance (AMR)
  • antimicrobials
  • water purification plant (WTP)
  • wastewater treatment plant (WWTP)
  • hospital wastewater
  • livestock environment
  • aquaculture farm environment
  • aquatic environment

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Related Special Issue

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

22 pages, 4842 KB  
Article
Mass Flux Analysis Reveals the Presence and Fate of Antimicrobials in Hospital Effluent, Wastewater Treatment Plant, and River Environments
by Takashi Azuma, Masaru Usui, Tomohiro Hasei and Tetsuya Hayashi
Antibiotics 2026, 15(8), 760; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15080760 - 7 Aug 2026
Viewed by 422
Abstract
Background: Hospitals are recognized as important point sources of antimicrobials; however, their contributions to antimicrobial contamination at the watershed scale remain poorly understood. Methods: Seasonal monitoring was conducted between December 2024 and May 2026 at two hospitals, a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and [...] Read more.
Background: Hospitals are recognized as important point sources of antimicrobials; however, their contributions to antimicrobial contamination at the watershed scale remain poorly understood. Methods: Seasonal monitoring was conducted between December 2024 and May 2026 at two hospitals, a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), and receiving river waters in the Yodo River Basin, Japan. Seventeen antimicrobials were quantified, and concentration profiles and mass fluxes were integrated to evaluate source contributions. Results: Ampicillin, levofloxacin, azithromycin, clarithromycin, and vancomycin were the predominant antimicrobials. Hospital wastewater was identified as the dominant source of ampicillin and vancomycin, whereas levofloxacin and clarithromycin were largely influenced by diffuse watershed inputs. Several antimicrobials persisted through wastewater treatment and were continuously detected in WWTP effluent and downstream river waters. Conclusions: This watershed-scale assessment demonstrates that antimicrobial contamination is driven by both hospital-derived point sources and broader watershed inputs. These findings provide a scientific basis for integrated hospital wastewater and WWTP management to mitigate environmental antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within the One Health framework. Full article
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17 pages, 1379 KB  
Article
Parabens at Environmental Levels Modulate Virulence and Antimicrobial Tolerance of Exposed Biofilm Cells
by Ana Rita Pereira, Manuel Simões and Inês B. Gomes
Antibiotics 2026, 15(6), 565; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics15060565 - 1 Jun 2026
Viewed by 618
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Parabens are widely used preservatives detected at trace levels in drinking water. Although their endocrine-disrupting effects are well established, their long-term impact on environmental bacteria remains poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of parabens on changes in bacterial phenotypic virulence [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Parabens are widely used preservatives detected at trace levels in drinking water. Although their endocrine-disrupting effects are well established, their long-term impact on environmental bacteria remains poorly understood. This study investigated the effects of parabens on changes in bacterial phenotypic virulence traits and antimicrobial tolerance of bacteria within drinking water biofilms. Methods: Acinetobacter calcoaceticus and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia biofilms were grown on polyvinyl chloride coupons for 26 days under exposure to methyl- (MP), propyl- (PP), butyl-paraben (BP), or a paraben mixture (MIX) at 0.15 µg/L. Biofilm regrowth and virulence-associated traits, including motility (swimming, swarming, and twitching), extracellular enzymes (gelatinase, protease, and lipase), and siderophore production, were evaluated. The effect of prolonged MP exposure (10 weeks) on antimicrobial tolerance was assessed. Results: In A. calcoaceticus, MP reduced biofilm biomass by 32%, whereas MIX increased biomass by 25% and culturability (1.1-fold). S. maltophilia showed increased biofilm culturability with PP (50%), and increased biomass of 2.6-, 2.4-, and 1.8-fold for PP, BP, and MIX, respectively. Biofilm cells exhibited higher virulence factor production than planktonic counterparts. S. maltophilia biofilm cells exposed to BP and MIX showed enhanced swimming and swarming motility, with halo diameters up to fivefold larger than controls. Lipase production increased under BP and MIX exposure, whereas MP exposure reduced it. A MP-induced reduction in motility was observed for A. calcoaceticus and S. maltophilia. Long-term MP exposure results in reduced susceptibility to ceftazidime and minocycline in A. calcoaceticus. Conclusions: Environmentally relevant concentrations of parabens can modulate bacterial virulence traits, increasing biofilm formation, motility and lipase production, and antimicrobial tolerance. Full article
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