Antimicrobial resistance and water

Antimicrobial resistance from water pollution has grown into a major global health concern.

This briefing paper, to which Hub Co-Investigator Prof. David Graham contributed, explores the relationship between antimicrobial resistance (AMR) and water pollution. It highlights how the amount of consumption and discharge of antimicrobial drugs into water bodies, in combination with the socio-economic vulnerability of a country determines the rate at which AMR spreads. In countries lacking universal wastewater treatment and access to clean water and sanitation, water is the primary vector in the spread of AMR.