NEC05836 The environmental REsistome: confluence of Human and Animal Biota in antibiotic resistance spread (REHAB)
Lead Research Organisation:
NERC CEH (Up to 30.11.2019)
Department Name: Science Programme Office
Abstract
OVERALL STUDY AIM
We do not fully understand how important types (species) of bacteria and packages of genetic material (genes) coding for antibiotic resistance move between humans, animals and the environment, or where, how and why antibiotic resistance emerges. This study aims to look in detail at the genetic level at bacteria in farm animals, human/animal sewage, sewage treatment works and rivers, to work out the complex network of transmission of important antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. We will use this information to work out how best to slow down the spread of antibiotic resistance between humans, livestock and the environment.
STUDY BACKGROUND AND AIMS IN MORE DETAIL
Infections are one of the most common causes of ill-health in human and animal medicine, and are caused by a range of different micro-organisms, including viruses and bacteria. Amongst bacteria, there are some species, or types, of bacteria, which can live harmlessly in human and animal intestines, sewage, and rivers, but can also cause disease in humans and animals if they get into the wrong body space, such as the bloodstream or urine. Examples of these bacteria include E. coli, and other similar organisms, which belong to a family of bacteria called "Enterobacteriaceae".
It has generally been possible to treat infections caused by bacteria using several classes of medicines, known as antibiotics. Different antibiotics kill bacteria in different ways: for example, they can switch off critical chemical processes that the bacteria need to survive, or they can break down the outer shell of the bacteria. In response to the use of antibiotics, bacteria have changed over time, finding ways to alter their structure so that antibiotics no longer have a target to act on, or by producing substances that break down the antibiotic before it has a chance to kill the bacteria. These changes to the bacteria's genetic code, so that they are no longer killed by an antibiotic, create antibiotic resistance. Bacteria can also acquire packages of genes that cause antibiotic resistance from other surrounding bacteria. This is known as horizontal gene transfer. Through these mechanisms, members of the Enterobacteriaceae family of bacteria have developed antibiotic resistance to a number of different antibiotics over a short period of time. In some cases we are no longer able to treat these infections with the antibiotics we have available.
Studying antibiotic resistance and horizontal gene transfer in bacteria found in humans, animals and the environment is difficult because we cannot directly see how bacteria and their genetic material move between them. However, new "Next Generation Sequencing" (NGS) technologies allow scientists to look in great detail at the genetic code of large numbers of bacteria. Comparing this information across bacteria which have been living in the different parts of the environment (e.g. sewage treatment works, rivers) and in human and animal sewage allows us to see how bacteria have evolved to become resistant to antibiotics, and how resistance genes have been shared between them.
This study will use NGS technologies to look at the genetic code of large numbers of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria found in humans, animals (pigs, sheep and poultry), sewage (pre-, during and post-treatment), and rivers. These different groups/areas will be sampled in different seasons of one calendar year to determine how antibiotic resistance genes move around between these locations and over time, and what factors might influence this movement. We will also be investigating whether various chemicals and nutrients in the water may be affecting how quickly horizontal gene transfer occurs. Understanding this is essential to work out how we might intervene more effectively to slow the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria, and keep our antibiotic medicines useful.
We do not fully understand how important types (species) of bacteria and packages of genetic material (genes) coding for antibiotic resistance move between humans, animals and the environment, or where, how and why antibiotic resistance emerges. This study aims to look in detail at the genetic level at bacteria in farm animals, human/animal sewage, sewage treatment works and rivers, to work out the complex network of transmission of important antibiotic-resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes. We will use this information to work out how best to slow down the spread of antibiotic resistance between humans, livestock and the environment.
STUDY BACKGROUND AND AIMS IN MORE DETAIL
Infections are one of the most common causes of ill-health in human and animal medicine, and are caused by a range of different micro-organisms, including viruses and bacteria. Amongst bacteria, there are some species, or types, of bacteria, which can live harmlessly in human and animal intestines, sewage, and rivers, but can also cause disease in humans and animals if they get into the wrong body space, such as the bloodstream or urine. Examples of these bacteria include E. coli, and other similar organisms, which belong to a family of bacteria called "Enterobacteriaceae".
It has generally been possible to treat infections caused by bacteria using several classes of medicines, known as antibiotics. Different antibiotics kill bacteria in different ways: for example, they can switch off critical chemical processes that the bacteria need to survive, or they can break down the outer shell of the bacteria. In response to the use of antibiotics, bacteria have changed over time, finding ways to alter their structure so that antibiotics no longer have a target to act on, or by producing substances that break down the antibiotic before it has a chance to kill the bacteria. These changes to the bacteria's genetic code, so that they are no longer killed by an antibiotic, create antibiotic resistance. Bacteria can also acquire packages of genes that cause antibiotic resistance from other surrounding bacteria. This is known as horizontal gene transfer. Through these mechanisms, members of the Enterobacteriaceae family of bacteria have developed antibiotic resistance to a number of different antibiotics over a short period of time. In some cases we are no longer able to treat these infections with the antibiotics we have available.
Studying antibiotic resistance and horizontal gene transfer in bacteria found in humans, animals and the environment is difficult because we cannot directly see how bacteria and their genetic material move between them. However, new "Next Generation Sequencing" (NGS) technologies allow scientists to look in great detail at the genetic code of large numbers of bacteria. Comparing this information across bacteria which have been living in the different parts of the environment (e.g. sewage treatment works, rivers) and in human and animal sewage allows us to see how bacteria have evolved to become resistant to antibiotics, and how resistance genes have been shared between them.
This study will use NGS technologies to look at the genetic code of large numbers of Enterobacteriaceae bacteria found in humans, animals (pigs, sheep and poultry), sewage (pre-, during and post-treatment), and rivers. These different groups/areas will be sampled in different seasons of one calendar year to determine how antibiotic resistance genes move around between these locations and over time, and what factors might influence this movement. We will also be investigating whether various chemicals and nutrients in the water may be affecting how quickly horizontal gene transfer occurs. Understanding this is essential to work out how we might intervene more effectively to slow the spread of antibiotic resistance genes and bacteria, and keep our antibiotic medicines useful.
Planned Impact
IMPACT SUMMARY
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to the treatment of infections in humans and animals, and a particular problem in a family of bacteria known as the Enterobacteriaceae. These organisms can cause a wide range of infectious syndromes, but are also able to asymptomatically colonise the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals, and wider environmental reservoirs such as sewage and rivers. They are particularly effective at sharing resistance genes using mobile genetic elements (e.g. plasmids). At present there are limited data to explain how resistance genes spread amongst Enterobacteriaceae, and where this is most likely to occur (humans, animals, the environment); as a result, it is difficult to design appropriate interventions.
This study represents the first detailed analysis of resistance genes, resistance gene vectors and important strains of Enterobacteriaceae harbouring them, sampled across humans, animals, sewage and rivers, and evaluated at multiple time points. The concept has been developed by a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team of researchers, with a view to providing valuable outputs to a similarly broad range of research users/stakeholders. As a result, information generated by the study will be of benefit to:
1. Human and animal public health agencies, in developing public health policy and designing strategic interventions to combat AMR across scientific disciplines
2. Healthcare providers, in managing hospital waste and potentially using it as a resource to monitor the degree of AMR present within hospital institutions, and identifying potential wider sources contributing to AMR in disease-causing strains of Enterobacteriaceae
3. Water and wastewater service providers, who will be assisted in designing any necessary interventions to limit the spread of AMR elements through effluent, sewage treatment works and water systems
4. Farmers, who will gain insight into how AMR might be spreading to, within and from their animal herds/flocks, and will be given support in considering interventions which may limit this spread
5. Environmental agencies, who will be able to use the information and methods from this study to assess whether current policy regarding sludge use on arable land and effluent discharge into rivers restricts the spread of AMR elements in the environment
6. The general public, who stand to gain from the detailed knowledge of resistance gene transmission networks generated by this study, which can then be used as a platform for appropriate, targeted interventions to limit further AMR spread and evolution
7. Academic users and scientific researchers, who will have the largest collection of fully sequenced Enterobacteriaceae strains and plasmids, well-characterised environmental metagenomic datasets, and tools for genomic and metagenomic analysis, made available to them
Overall, the data and insights generated from this study will enable a wide range of user groups to participate in designing strategic interventions to combat AMR in Enterobacteriaceae regionally, nationally and internationally. In addition to producing early results that will have an impact on guiding approaches to appropriately tackling AMR in Enterobacteriaceae regionally and nationally, we aim to establish a series of sampling frames and analytical methods relevant to the implementation of long-term, on-going surveillance, that can eventually be used as a model system for successful global monitoring of the spread of AMR genes, plasmids and strains.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a major threat to the treatment of infections in humans and animals, and a particular problem in a family of bacteria known as the Enterobacteriaceae. These organisms can cause a wide range of infectious syndromes, but are also able to asymptomatically colonise the gastrointestinal tracts of humans and animals, and wider environmental reservoirs such as sewage and rivers. They are particularly effective at sharing resistance genes using mobile genetic elements (e.g. plasmids). At present there are limited data to explain how resistance genes spread amongst Enterobacteriaceae, and where this is most likely to occur (humans, animals, the environment); as a result, it is difficult to design appropriate interventions.
This study represents the first detailed analysis of resistance genes, resistance gene vectors and important strains of Enterobacteriaceae harbouring them, sampled across humans, animals, sewage and rivers, and evaluated at multiple time points. The concept has been developed by a collaborative, multi-disciplinary team of researchers, with a view to providing valuable outputs to a similarly broad range of research users/stakeholders. As a result, information generated by the study will be of benefit to:
1. Human and animal public health agencies, in developing public health policy and designing strategic interventions to combat AMR across scientific disciplines
2. Healthcare providers, in managing hospital waste and potentially using it as a resource to monitor the degree of AMR present within hospital institutions, and identifying potential wider sources contributing to AMR in disease-causing strains of Enterobacteriaceae
3. Water and wastewater service providers, who will be assisted in designing any necessary interventions to limit the spread of AMR elements through effluent, sewage treatment works and water systems
4. Farmers, who will gain insight into how AMR might be spreading to, within and from their animal herds/flocks, and will be given support in considering interventions which may limit this spread
5. Environmental agencies, who will be able to use the information and methods from this study to assess whether current policy regarding sludge use on arable land and effluent discharge into rivers restricts the spread of AMR elements in the environment
6. The general public, who stand to gain from the detailed knowledge of resistance gene transmission networks generated by this study, which can then be used as a platform for appropriate, targeted interventions to limit further AMR spread and evolution
7. Academic users and scientific researchers, who will have the largest collection of fully sequenced Enterobacteriaceae strains and plasmids, well-characterised environmental metagenomic datasets, and tools for genomic and metagenomic analysis, made available to them
Overall, the data and insights generated from this study will enable a wide range of user groups to participate in designing strategic interventions to combat AMR in Enterobacteriaceae regionally, nationally and internationally. In addition to producing early results that will have an impact on guiding approaches to appropriately tackling AMR in Enterobacteriaceae regionally and nationally, we aim to establish a series of sampling frames and analytical methods relevant to the implementation of long-term, on-going surveillance, that can eventually be used as a model system for successful global monitoring of the spread of AMR genes, plasmids and strains.
Publications
Chau KK
(2022)
Systematic review of wastewater surveillance of antimicrobial resistance in human populations.
in Environment international
De Maio N
(2019)
Comparison of long-read sequencing technologies in the hybrid assembly of complex bacterial genomes.
in Microbial genomics
Gweon HS
(2019)
The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples.
in Environmental microbiome
Matlock W
(2021)
Genomic network analysis of environmental and livestock F-type plasmid populations.
in The ISME journal
Shaw LP
(2021)
Niche and local geography shape the pangenome of wastewater- and livestock-associated Enterobacteriaceae.
in Science advances
Smith RP
(2023)
A longitudinal study reveals persistence of antimicrobial resistance on livestock farms is not due to antimicrobial usage alone.
in Frontiers in microbiology
Description | The research component of the REHAB project lead by UKCEH investigated the transmission of AMR genes through five wastewater treatment works (WwTWs) in Oxfordshire at three seasonal time points. Our findings indicated that the composition and abundance of resistance genes (the 'resistome') is dramatically changed during passage through all WwTWs at all seasonal time points, with significant reductions in the diversity and abundance of resistance genes in the effluent when compared to the influent. Influent resistomes varied by season, but this was not observed in effluent, indicating that WwTWs play a role in modifying Analysis of river sediments above and at intervals below the effluent point indicated that sewage effluent does cause changes in the resistome of sediment bacterial communities, in composition, diversity, and abundance, but the impacts were relatively small. |
Exploitation Route | There is interest from the UK water and sewerage industry to better understand the importance and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within their treatment processes and to understand how different treatment configurations may influence these dynamics. The results, methods and data analysis approaches developed in the REHAB project are being used in UK water and sewerage industry-funded research to allow these topics to be investigated further. |
Sectors | Environment |
Description | The results of the REHAB project are being used by the UK water and sewerage industry to better understand the importance and dynamics of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) within their treatment processes and to understand how different treatment configurations may influence these dynamics. The methods developed under REHAB for analysis of metagenomic for antimicrobial resistance genes (ResPipe) are being used in UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) funded research investigating the patterns and drivers of AMR in wastewater treatment in England and Wales UK under the National Chemical Investigations Programme 2020-2022 https://ukwir.org/project-reports?object=239231. |
First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
Sector | Environment |
Impact Types | Societal |
Description | Medical Research Foundation National PhD Training Programme in Antimicrobial Resistance Research (AMR) |
Amount | £129,400 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MRF NDM-OX/KC |
Organisation | Foundation for Medical Research (FRM) |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | France |
Start | 09/2018 |
End | 10/2022 |
Description | PAthways of Chemicals Into Freshwaters and their ecological ImpaCts (PACIFIC) |
Amount | £1,597,089 (GBP) |
Funding ID | NE/X015947/1 |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 11/2022 |
End | 10/2026 |
Description | SCENARIO DTP |
Amount | £30,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2019 |
End | 08/2023 |
Description | Thames Water pathogen persistence experiments |
Amount | £15,000 (GBP) |
Organisation | Thames Water Utilities Limited |
Sector | Private |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 01/2024 |
End | 03/2024 |
Description | The National Chemical Investigations Programme 2020-2021, Chem 3, Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), reference EQ01 AMR |
Amount | £1,141,440 (GBP) |
Funding ID | EQ01 AMR |
Organisation | UK Water Industry Research Ltd |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 04/2022 |
Title | Library of samples |
Description | A library of samples collected from farms (environmental and biological), rivers and sewage treatment works for use potentially in future funded research projects. |
Type Of Material | Biological samples |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | No impact yet. |
Title | Bioinformatic pipeline for the analysis of AMR genes in metagenomic data |
Description | A bioinformatic pipeline (ResPipe) designed for the accurate assignment and counting of genes that are classified as expressing antimicrobial resistance phenotypes. The pipleine is containerised and made available via Nextflow. |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2018 |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | Respipe is currently being used in-house during optimisation and testing phases, but will be made publically available to the research community when this is complete. |
Title | Complete bacterial assemblies for 'Enterobacterales plasmid sharing amongst human bloodstream infections, livestock, wastewater, and waterway niches in Oxfordshire, UK' |
Description | Complete bacterial assemblies from the journal article 'Matlock, William, et al. "Enterobacterales plasmid sharing amongst human bloodstream infections, livestock, wastewater, and waterway niches in Oxfordshire, UK." Elife 12 (2023): e85302.' 'assemblies.zip' contains assemblies for n=1,458 isolates with circularised chromosomes and n=3,697 circularised plasmids. If you use this data please cite the journal article and the Zenodo DOI. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://zenodo.org/record/7948129 |
Title | Database/Collection of data |
Description | Database generated to allow metadata to be recorded related to samples collected from farms, rivers and sewage treatment works. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Provided To Others? | No |
Impact | No impact to date |
Title | MOESM3 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 3: Table S1. Metagenomic data. Each sample was sequenced in replicate across four lanes (2 × 4 = 8 files per sample), combining to give the ~ 200 million reads per sample used in the study. The number of reads mapping to T. thermophilus from each sample is also given. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM3_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM3 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 3: Table S1. Metagenomic data. Each sample was sequenced in replicate across four lanes (2 × 4 = 8 files per sample), combining to give the ~ 200 million reads per sample used in the study. The number of reads mapping to T. thermophilus from each sample is also given. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM3_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM4 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 4: Table S2. Hybrid sequencing details for cultured isolates. Statistics are shown for both short reads (Illumina) and long reads (PacBio) sequenced from the same DNA extracts. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM4_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM4 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 4: Table S2. Hybrid sequencing details for cultured isolates. Statistics are shown for both short reads (Illumina) and long reads (PacBio) sequenced from the same DNA extracts. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM4_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM5 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 5: Table S3. Details of mapping metagenomic reads to isolate hybrid assemblies. Each sample is shown on a different sheet. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM5_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM5 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 5: Table S3. Details of mapping metagenomic reads to isolate hybrid assemblies. Each sample is shown on a different sheet. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM5_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM6 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 6: Table S4. PERMANOVA results based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarities for sample replicates. Analyses are shown in relation to sample replicates and sequencing lanes for both (a) CARD AMR abundance data, (b) Centrifuge taxonomic abundance data. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM6_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | MOESM6 of The impact of sequencing depth on the inferred taxonomic composition and AMR gene content of metagenomic samples |
Description | Additional file 6: Table S4. PERMANOVA results based on Bray-Curtis dissimilarities for sample replicates. Analyses are shown in relation to sample replicates and sequencing lanes for both (a) CARD AMR abundance data, (b) Centrifuge taxonomic abundance data. Provided as Excel spreadsheet. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2019 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://springernature.figshare.com/articles/MOESM6_of_The_impact_of_sequencing_depth_on_the_inferre... |
Title | Nutrient chemistry data from five rivers receiving sewage effluent in Oxfordshire, England, 2017 |
Description | This data set comprises water quality data from five tributaries of the River Thames, UK. Sampling sites at each river were from both upstream and downstream of sewage effluent point sources. Parameters measured were phosphorus and nitrogen species, dissolved organic carbon and major dissolved anions (fluoride, chloride, sulphate). This work was carried out as a part of the NERC project: "The environmental REsistome: confluence of Human and Animal Biota in antibiotic resistance spread (REHAB)" (Project reference NE/N019660/1). |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/id/80710d5e-06cf-4757-93c5-87fcbe421352 |
Description | PacBio sequencing |
Organisation | Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai |
Country | United States |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Investigation of plasmid structure |
Collaborator Contribution | Sequencing and analysis. Member of REHAB Steering Committee |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Thames Water Collaboration |
Organisation | Thames Water Utilities Limited |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Private |
PI Contribution | Access to results of AMR in Sewage Treatment Works |
Collaborator Contribution | Provide access and Health and safety training for Sewage Treatment Works. Member of the REHAB Steering Committee |
Impact | None as yet |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | University of Oxford |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provide project management, and wet lab support including DNA extractions of the samples. Sewage treatment work site identification, sample collection. Development of bioinformatic tools. |
Collaborator Contribution | Project management, and wet lab support including DNA extractions and metagenomic sequencing of the samples. Provide collaborative link with Mount Sinai for PacBio long read sequencing. Development of bioinformatics pipelines and tools. |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | University of Reading |
Organisation | University of Reading |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Provision of data and ideas for the development of a bioinformatic pipeline for the analysis of antimicrobial resistance in metagenomics data. |
Collaborator Contribution | Programming of bioinformatic pipeline (ResPipe), testing and data analysis. |
Impact | No outcomes yet |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | collaboration with APHA |
Organisation | Animal and Plant Health Agency |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | Provide project management, and wet lab support including DNA extractions and metagenomic sequencing of the samples. |
Collaborator Contribution | Collection of samples from a variety of farms in the Oxfordshire area, including environmental farm samples for potential future studies. providing wetlab support and intellectual know how. Member of REHAB Steering Committee |
Impact | A library of pooled faecal samples, individual bacterial isolates and metagenomes from pig, sheep and cattle farms. |
Start Year | 2016 |
Description | Exhibit at UK Parliament AMR Reception |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | UK Parliament AMR Reception One year on from the publication of the UK government's 5-year action plan and 20-year vision for antimicrobial resistance (AMR), the Parliamentary Office of Science and Technology (POST) hosted the UK Parliament AMR Reception in partnership with the UK Veterinary Vaccinology Network. This event showcased UK research relevant to AMR and, as a centrepiece to the event, the current Chief Medical Officer (CMO) Professor Whitty spoke on UK progress towards meeting AMR targets. The AMR reception was a drop-in event where MPs, members of the Lords and other interested parties browsed exhibits displayed by UK researchers. The REHAB project has an exhibit showcasing the research project and outcomes (lead by Dr Daniel Read and Dr Muna Anjum). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.vetvaccnet.ac.uk/news/2020/01/uk-parliament-reception-antimicrobial-resistance-amr |
Description | Meeting with Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to discuss the role of wastewater on public health |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Meeting with Chief Medical Officer (CMO) to discuss the potential impacts of wastewater on the dissemination of pathogens and AMR in the aquatic environment |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
Description | Wastewater and Public Health workshop |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Participation at a workshop organised by the Royal Academy of Engineering bringing together experts across industry, regulators, academia and recreational water users. They considered the viability of a range of interventions to mitigate risks to public health of wastewater. The workshop was to inform an Academy report on the topic requested by the Chief Medical Officer for England. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
URL | https://nepc.raeng.org.uk/wastewater-public-health |
Description | Water industry engagement |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | Presentation to representatives from 10 UK water and sewerage companies on the outcomes of the REHAB project at a UK Water Industry Research (UKWIR) project meeting |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |