2023 Volume 27 Issue 1 Pages 9-16
Recently, the emergence and spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (AMRB) have been progressing on a serious scale worldwide. The enormous impact on society due to the spread of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria is concerned. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued the Global Action Plan on Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR) as a comprehensive measure pertaining to medical care, livestock, and the environment (One Health) and formulated national action plans on AMR for each country. In Japan, the action plan for AMR has been implemented to contain the prevalence of AMRB. Nevertheless, research on the environmental fate of these pollutants remains limited and much remains unknown regarding the environmental impact of hospital wastewater. Evaluating the state of environmental pollution caused by antimicrobials (ARBs) and AMRB, and taking measures to control and/or reduce their discharge is an essential issue for supporting both sustainable human prosperity and the conservation of the global environment. This paper provides current research on the occurrence and fate of ARBs and AMRB in hospital wastewater, wastewater treatment plants, and rivers, and the development of advanced wastewater treatment systems as an environmental risk reduction measure. Finally, strategies for future human health risk assessment and risk management are discussed.
