Editorial: Environmental AMR surveillance

I have written an editorial piece for the Swedish Pathogens Portal in which I reflect a bit on the upcoming EU legislation requiring monitoring of AMR in major wastewater treatment plants (1). I also veer a bit into where environmental monitoring outside of sewage may play a role, using our review paper resulting from EMBARK as the starting point (2).

This is timed to coincide with the registration deadlines for two upcoming workshops on AMR surveillance in the environment; the first being the DDLS Symposium on Data-Driven Environmental Monitoring of Infectious Disease on 7th-8th October in Uppsala, which I have been part of organising. The second is a workshop organised by CARe in Gothenburg on 28th October on the theme of sewage surveillance of antibiotic resistance, focusing on the new EU requirements.

My hope is that you will be a bit provoked by this and come to one of these workshops to discuss AMR surveillance and where to go next!

1. Bengtsson-Palme J: Surveillance of antimicrobial resistance – flying blind or flying behind? The Swedish Pathogens Portal, Editorial (2024). doi: 10.17044/scilifelab.27045433 [Link]
2. Bengtsson-Palme J, Abramova A, Berendonk TU, Coelho LP, Forslund SK, Gschwind R, Heikinheimo A, Jarquin-Diaz VH, Khan AA, Klümper U, Löber U, Nekoro M, Osińska AD, Ugarcina Perovic S, Pitkänen T, Rødland EK, Ruppé E, Wasteson Y, Wester AL, Zahra R: Towards monitoring of antimicrobial resistance in the environment: For what reasons, how to implement it, and what are the data needs? Environment International, 178, 108089 (2023). doi: 10.1016/j.envint.2023.108089 [Paper link]