Response of microorganisms in biofilm to sulfadiazine and ciprofloxacin in drinking water distribution systems

Prolonged exposure of Stenotrophomonas maltophilia biofilms to trace levels of clofibric acid alters antimicrobial tolerance and virulence

“…Using a variety of contaminants they found that biofilms exposed to wastewater had higher levels of ARBs and ARGs than biofilms exposed to treated wastewater. Wang et al (2019) also verified that exposure to ciprofloxacin and sulfadiazine promoted ARGs spread in drinking water biofilms. The present results demonstrated that S. maltophilia was resistant to AMO, OXA and SPE, even without being exposed to CA (Table 2).…”

“…Biofilm formation along the DWDS is another unavoidable phenomenon that may have significant influence on the spread of ARB and ARG (Simões and Simões, 2013;Zhang et al, 2018). These biofilms are continuously exposed to the ECs persisting in the final DW (Wang et al, 2019). The presence of ECs and biofilms in DWDS should be considered based on a One Health approach aiming to improve public health outcomes, recognizing that human health is connected with animal health and the environment -where both are inserted (Gibbs, 2014;Smith et al, 2019).…”

Emerging contaminants affect the microbiome of water systems—strategies for their mitigation

“…They observed a shift in the bacterial community in the reactor supplemented with pharmaceuticals at 50 µg/L. Information about the effects on DW microbiota is, however, still very scarce 40 . The main alterations caused by ECs in the water microbiota may be divided essentially in two main groups: microbial ecotoxicology and spread of antibiotic resistance.…”

“…There are a number of studies describing the effects of emerging contamination on the behavior of natural microbiomes in different water sources, such as on rivers biofilms, in marine sediment biofilms and other aquatic ecosystems. Exposure to environmental relevant concentrations of ECs caused significant alterations in the microbial community composition and function, such as alterations in respiration rate, extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) production and enzymatic activity 40,45 . It is important to take into account that ECs are not found isolated in the environment, but in complexes mixtures of contaminants 10,14,46 .…”

“…The effects of non-antibiotic ECs in DW at environmental levels (ng/L or µg/L) requires significant efforts to respond to environmental and public health concerns. We are aware of only four recent studies on this topic 40,[75][76][77] . Wang et al 40 evaluated the response of DW biofilms to sulfadiazine and ciprofloxacin.…”