CDC Funds Research on Antibiotic-resistant Bacteria in Rivers

We’re excited to collaborate with project leads Dr. Tom Wittum (OSU Vet Preventative Med) and Dr. Jiyoung Lee (OSU Environmental Health Sciences) on CDC-funded research investigating sources and fates of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in rivers.

In particular, our focus in on carbapenem drugs, which are often the antimicrobial therapy of choice to treat life-threatening invasive gram negative infections. The emergence of carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) represents a critically important threat to public health. CRE are known to emerge in healthcare settings in response to frequent antimicrobial use and disseminate through environments that provide appropriate selection pressure. Our working hypothesis is that waste from metropolitan medical centers regularly transports CRE to wastewater treatment plants where they are maintained and ultimately discharged into surface waters, which may then serve as a reservoir for widespread dissemination of these highly resistant organisms. Study systems include the Scioto and Olentangy Rivers of central and southern Ohio.