EESS talk on "Antimicrobial resistance dissemination in the Swiss water cycle"
Event details
| Date | 15.11.2016 |
| Hour | 12:15 › 13:15 |
| Speaker | Dr Helmut Buergmann, Microbial Ecology, Surface Waters - Research and Management Dept, EAWAG, Kastanienbaum |
| Location | |
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract: Infections with antibiotic resistant bacteria are on the rise and increasingly threaten the enormous benefits of the antibiotic era on a global scale. In recent years it has become obvious that there are environmental aspects to the problem. Not only do many resistance genes originate in harmless environmental bacteria, but also high loads of resistance bacteria are discharged with human and animal feces possibly leading to further spread of resistance. Wastewater treatment is one potential hotspot for antimicrobial resistance dissemination and -perhaps- evolution, as resistant fecal bacteria mix with antibiotic residues, other toxic substances, and a diverse and numerous microbial community that includes many bacteria that can survive and proliferate in the aquatic environment. This presentation follows the fate of resistant bacteria and resistance determinants through wastewater treatment into natural waters. We look at the possible role of antibiotics for resistance selection in wastewater treatment plants, and the spread of resistance into lakes and rivers. Finally the possibilities of removing resistant bacteria from the wastewater stream by ozonation or PAC-ultrafiltration is discussed.
Short biography: Helmut Bürgmann is a microbial ecologist at Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic science and Technology. He started out studying geoecology in Bayreuth, Germany, graduating in 1998. In 2003 he received his PhD from ETH Zurich, where he worked in the Soil Biology group of Prof. Zeyer. From 2004 to 2006 he was a PostDoc at the Marine Sciences department of the University of Georgia in Athens (GA). Since 2006 he is back in Switzerland at Eawag’s Kastanienbaum location, leading the Microbial Ecology group. His research interests include the relationship of microbial community structure and function in aquatic environments, resistance and resilience of microbial communities and their functions, and the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance into aquatic envrionments.
Short biography: Helmut Bürgmann is a microbial ecologist at Eawag, Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic science and Technology. He started out studying geoecology in Bayreuth, Germany, graduating in 1998. In 2003 he received his PhD from ETH Zurich, where he worked in the Soil Biology group of Prof. Zeyer. From 2004 to 2006 he was a PostDoc at the Marine Sciences department of the University of Georgia in Athens (GA). Since 2006 he is back in Switzerland at Eawag’s Kastanienbaum location, leading the Microbial Ecology group. His research interests include the relationship of microbial community structure and function in aquatic environments, resistance and resilience of microbial communities and their functions, and the dissemination of antimicrobial resistance into aquatic envrionments.
Practical information
- General public
- Free
- This event is internal
Organizer
- EESS - IIE
Contact
- Prof. Urs von Gunten, LTQE