Collaborative Projects

AWARE-WWTP: Antibiotic Resistance in Wastewater: Transmission Risks for Employees and Residents around Waste Water Treatment Plants

Microorganisms are increasingly developing the means to weaken or even to completely neutralize the effect of antibiotic substances. The increase in infections from antibiotic-resistant bacteria is therefore a serious threat to public health. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria of human origin are present in municipal wastewater treatment plants where they can spread to the surrounding environment. The AWARE-WWTP consortium aims to examine the transmission of antibiotic resistance from wastewater treatment plants to employees and local residents and thus to identify possible risks resulting from inhalation and ingestion of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. Workers and residents around several municipal treatment plants in Germany, the Netherlands and Romania will be interviewed and examined for antibiotic-resistant bacteria. The findings will be used to develop prevention strategies in order to reduce the dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria from municipal wastewater treatment plants.