Molecular markers link Vibrio cholerae hazards in the Akaki catchment to human sewage pollution. 0.6-20% of fecal coliforms in the rivers of the catchment had ESBL producing antibiotic resistance traits. Hazards were highest in the dry season when river water is used for irrigation. Read our paper in Science of the Total Environment.
Congratulations to Kishor Acharya, Kalyan Pantha, and colleagues in Nepal on receiving an award from the National Academy of Science and Technology, Nepal, for our MinION paper in Scientific Reports.
Read how we were able to establish urban faecal pollution as the main driver of environmental AMR in Central Thailand using HT-qPCR and MinION NGS, in collaboration with our partners at King Mongkut’s University of Technology Thonburi (KMUTT) in Thailand and the Institute of Urban Environment of the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
https://www.ncl.ac.uk/press/articles/latest/2021/03/amraquaculture/
Excellent fieldwork led by Kishor Acharya with colleagues in Nepal successfully demonstrated the application of our suitcase laboratory in a low income country. Kishor and his colleagues used 16S rRNA gene sequencing and SourceTracker analysis to demonstrate how microbial communities in the downstream part of the Bagmati river were mainly contributed by untreated sewage. Read the paper in Clean Water.
From training into practice: Our collaborators at NUMed in Malaysia have published a paper showing that surrogate markers, such dissolved oxygen, Bacteroides and Prevotella abundances estimated from MinION sequencing data, and the rodA qPCR assay for total E. coli, can identify locations on a river that deserve immediate attention to mitigate AMR spread through improved waste management.
Kishor, with our colleagues in Tanzania, has published an article in the Journal of Environmental Management showing that DNA fragments are much more resilient under chlorination than intact cells or culturable bacteria. Consequently, complementary plate count methods remain essential for the correct interpretation of molecular data for disinfected waters. An important insight gained from the IMAGINE project.
We have assembled small equipment items into a water quality lab that fits into a suitcase. The suitcase lab enables 16S rRNA gene amplicon based characterization of millions of bacteria in water samples, almost anywhere in the world. A fantastic outcome of our collaboration with colleagues in Ethiopia.
