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Antibiotics
Special Issues
Antimicrobial Resistance in the Era of Climate Change
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Antimicrobial Resistance in the Era of Climate Change

A special issue of Antibiotics (ISSN 2079-6382).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 September 2025) | Viewed by 1823

Special Issue Editors

Dr. Natalia G. Vallianou

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Guest Editor
First Department of Internal Medicine, Sismanogleio General Hospital, 15126 Athens, Greece
Interests: infectious diseases; diabetes; obesity; microbiome; climate change
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals
Dr. Eleni Geladari

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Guest Editor
Department of Internal Medicine, Evangelismos General Hospital, 45–47 Ipsilantou Str., 10676 Athens, Greece
Interests: antibiotic resistance, drug-resistant infections, rising global temperature, humidity, air pollution, heat-resistant bacteria, bacterial epigenetics, pandemic Vibrio infections, Infections due to Candida auris, soil microbes, greenhouse gases etc.
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Climate change is affecting human health in several ways, and is currently considered to be an important public health issue worldwide. The extremes in temperature, as well as globally rising temperatures, are associated with new pathogens and increases in the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of many well-known bacteria and fungi. Although AMR and climate change are usually considered to be two distinct entities, they are, in fact, intricately interconnected. Climate change is responsible for the spread of AMR, as human beings, together with animals and plants, survive in the same ecosystem: our planet. The purpose of this Special Issue is to delve into the relationship between climate change and AMR. Extreme heat or flooding are associated with the emergence of AMR, especially among bacteria and fungi. Therefore, we welcome review manuscripts on the intersection between climate change and AMR, as well as original articles regarding the spread or epidemics of antibiotic-resistant species.

Dr. Natalia G. Vallianou
Dr. Eleni Geladari
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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-blind 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

  • climate change
  • extremes in temperature
  • antimicrobial resistance (AMR)

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 1054 KB  
Article
Occurrence and Risk Assessment of Antimicrobials and Resistant Bacteria in Treated Sewage Effluents in South Brazil
by Keite da Silva Nogueira, Ana Paula de Oliveira Tomaz, Gabrielly Cristina Kubis, Raizza Zorman Marques, Nicole Geraldine de Paula Marques Witt, Aliny Lucia Borges Borba, Bárbara Zanicotti Leite and Marcelo Pedrosa Gomes
Antibiotics 2025, 14(8), 836; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14080836 - 18 Aug 2025
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Abstract
Background/Objectives: The increasing presence of antimicrobial residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has become a critical concern for environmental and public health. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence, concentrations, and ecological risks of commonly used antimicrobials [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: The increasing presence of antimicrobial residues and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) in effluents from wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) has become a critical concern for environmental and public health. This study aimed to investigate the occurrence, concentrations, and ecological risks of commonly used antimicrobials as well as the prevalence of clinically relevant ARB in treated effluents. Methods: A five-month monitoring campaign was conducted at a major WWTP in Curitiba, Brazil. Thirteen antibiotics were quantified using LC-MS/MS, resistant bacteria were identified via phenotypic profiling, and ecotoxicological assays were performed with Desmodesmus subspicatus. Risk assessments included hazard quotient (HQ) calculations for ecotoxicity and resistance selection as well as multivariate and correlation analyses. Results: All antibiotics were consistently detected over five months, with total concentrations ranging from 1730 to 2840 ng L−1. Clinically relevant ARB (Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, and Enterobacter cloacae) resistant to high-priority antibiotics were also isolated. Ecotoxicological tests showed moderate growth inhibition only in undiluted effluent. HQ values for ecotoxicity were <1, but HQ for resistance selection exceeded 1 for all compounds. Multivariate analyses showed strong associations between fluoroquinolone and macrolide concentrations and ARB detection. Conclusions: Although WWTPs reduce pollutant loads, conventional processes may not fully eliminate antimicrobials and ARB, highlighting the need for advanced treatments. Culture-based detection may have underestimated the resistance diversity. These findings support the integration of resistance-based discharge thresholds into regulations, and provide a replicable model for AMR surveillance in tropical urban systems. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in the Era of Climate Change)
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Review

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33 pages, 7123 KB  
Review
Climate Change and AMR: Interconnected Threats and One Health Solutions
by Bilal Aslam and Sulaiman F. Aljasir
Antibiotics 2025, 14(9), 946; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14090946 - 18 Sep 2025
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Abstract
Climate change is a significant driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and infectious disease dynamics, presenting urgent and interconnected global health challenges. Rising temperatures, ecosystem alterations, and extreme weather events amplify the global spread of resistant pathogens, zoonotic infections, and vector-borne diseases. These impacts [...] Read more.
Climate change is a significant driver of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and infectious disease dynamics, presenting urgent and interconnected global health challenges. Rising temperatures, ecosystem alterations, and extreme weather events amplify the global spread of resistant pathogens, zoonotic infections, and vector-borne diseases. These impacts disproportionately affect low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), escalating healthcare costs and straining limited infrastructure. A critical characteristic of bacterial resistance is that it often does not incur a fitness cost, underscoring the necessity of preventive strategies to mitigate climate-driven AMR emergence, rather than relying on reactive treatments after resistance is established. Climate change accelerates AMR primarily by increasing the prevalence of infectious diseases, which in turn drive higher antibiotic use and select resistance. The socioeconomic consequences are particularly severe in LMICs, where high climate vulnerability converges with weaker health systems. Pandemic-related disruptions provided key insights into environmental dynamics, with notable temporary reductions in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) emissions, i.e., 20–30% in China, Italy, France, and Spain, and approximately 30% in the USA, which highlights the responsiveness of ecosystems to human activity. Unlike prior reviews that treated AMR and climate change as separate issues, this article integrates mechanistic evidence, epidemiological insights, and global strategies to provide a comprehensive One Health framework addressing these synergistic threats. We conclude that AMR and climate change are interlinked crises requiring urgent, integrated interventions. The quadripartite (FAO, UNEP, WHO, WOAH) provides a crucial framework for the coordinated cross-sectoral strategies, strengthened surveillance, and robust antibiotic stewardship required to mitigate this dual threat and safeguard global health security. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Antimicrobial Resistance in the Era of Climate Change)
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