Climate Change and Antibiotic Resistance

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

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 March 2025) | Viewed by 865

Special Issue Editor


E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Health Promotion, Mother and Child Care, Internal Medicine and Medical Specialties, University of Palermo, 90127 Palermo, Italy
Interests: HIV; tuberculosis; pediatric infectious disease; microbiota in surgery patients
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

There has been growing interest in the potential impacts of climate change and the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of fungi and bacteria that are more sensitive to heat exposure due to changing climate variables, particularly the rising ambient temperature. These microorganisms can be found in natural and hospital environments and can cause opportunistic infections in at-risk groups such as the elderly, young, and immunocompromised individuals. Understanding their similarity in cell response to heat and antibiotics is crucial in preventing, detecting, and treating such infections.

One of the most significant and frequently identified bacteria in environmental and human samples is Acinetobacter baumannii. Due to the expected temperature increases caused by global warming, this bacterium will experience severe range expansion in several regions. Risk maps created for 2050 and 2070 using two alternative CPRs indicate that various areas will be at risk of this bacterium due to the aforementioned temperature increase. Therefore, conducting further data analyses and GIS evaluations of these results is essential, especially locally.

Candida auris is responsible for infections such as UTIs in children and adults. It is more thermotolerant than other yeasts and may have appeared due to global warming.

In addition, the air conditioning systems of intensive care units and the construction of new hospitals must adapt to climate change as our times require.

Research is needed to understand how interactions between environmental microbes shape virulence and resistance on our warming planet. An increased understanding of the interrelatedness between climate change and microorganisms could help improve prevention, detection, and treatment efforts.

Because of unanswered questions, this Special Issue will bring together papers focusing on the impact of climate change on the interactions between environmental organisms and how this shapes virulence and resistance.

Dr. Paola Di Carlo
Guest Editor

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
  • antibiotic resistance
  • bacterial infections
  • global warming

Benefits of Publishing in a Special Issue

  • Ease of navigation: Grouping papers by topic helps scholars navigate broad scope journals more efficiently.
  • Greater discoverability: Special Issues support the reach and impact of scientific research. Articles in Special Issues are more discoverable and cited more frequently.
  • Expansion of research network: Special Issues facilitate connections among authors, fostering scientific collaborations.
  • External promotion: Articles in Special Issues are often promoted through the journal's social media, increasing their visibility.
  • e-Book format: Special Issues with more than 10 articles can be published as dedicated e-books, ensuring wide and rapid dissemination.

Further information on MDPI's Special Issue policies can be found here.

Published Papers (1 paper)

Order results
Result details
Select all
Export citation of selected articles as:

Research

16 pages, 580 KiB  
Article
The Influence of the Seasonal Variability of Candida spp. Bloodstream Infections and Antifungal Treatment: A Mediterranean Pilot Study
by Paola Di Carlo, Nicola Serra, Ornella Collotta, Claudia Colomba, Alberto Firenze, Luigi Aprea, Salvatore Antonino Distefano, Andrea Cortegiani, Giovanni Giammanco, Teresa Maria Assunta Fasciana, Roberta Virruso, Angela Capuano, Consolato M. Sergi and Antonio Cascio
Antibiotics 2025, 14(5), 452; https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics14050452 - 29 Apr 2025
Abstract
Background/Objectives: Various factors associated with seasonality, including temperature, humidity, geographical composition, and seasonal fluctuations, can influence the trends of microbes responsible for hospital infections, such as Candida spp. This study evaluates the seasonal variability of Candida spp. bloodstream infections and antifungal resistance [...] Read more.
Background/Objectives: Various factors associated with seasonality, including temperature, humidity, geographical composition, and seasonal fluctuations, can influence the trends of microbes responsible for hospital infections, such as Candida spp. This study evaluates the seasonal variability of Candida spp. bloodstream infections and antifungal resistance in hospitalized patients in Sicily. Methods: We retrospectively analyzed the demographic and epidemiological characteristics of 175 patients with blood cultures positive for Candida spp. Who were hospitalized at University Hospital Paolo Giaccone (A.U.O.P.), University of Palermo, Italy, from 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2024. Data on Candida species and antifungal resistance were also collected from the hospital’s database system to prevent and control hospital infections in A.U.O.P. Results: A total of 175 patients, 57.7% males, with a mean age of 68.3 years, were included in this study. Candida parapsilosis, Candida albicans, and Candida glabrata were more frequent in ICU (54.5%, p = 0.0001), medical (72.5%, p = 0.0003), and surgical settings (24%, p = 0.0161), respectively. C. parapsilosis was more frequent in dead patients (53.2%, p = 0.005). Among the seasons, we observed a significantly higher presence of C. glabrata in Autumn (20%, p = 0.0436). From the analysis of the seasons, C. parapsilosis and C. albicans were more frequent for each season, except in Spring, where the most frequent isolates were C. glabrata (5.1%, p = 0.0237) and C. parapsilosis (9.7%, p < 0.0001). The antifungal with the most resistance to Candida spp. was fluconazole in all seasons. Conclusions: Our study highlights the seasonal trends in Candida spp. and antifungal resistance, emphasizing climate change’s challenges on fungal diseases. These findings may contribute to improving prevention and treatment strategies for candidemia. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Climate Change and Antibiotic Resistance)
Back to TopTop