Open Waste Canals as Potential Sources of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Aerosols in Urban Kanpur, India

Olivia Ginn School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia;

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David Berendes Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia;

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Anna Wood Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana;

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Aaron Bivins Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;

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Lucas Rocha-Melogno Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;

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Marc A. Deshusses Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;

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Sachchida N. Tripathi Department of Civil Engineering, Centre for Environmental Science and Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology, Kanpur, India;

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Michael H. Bergin Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, North Carolina;

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Joe Brown Deparment of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

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ABSTRACT

Understanding the movement of antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment is critical to managing their spread. To assess potential ARG transport through the air via urban bioaerosols in cities with poor sanitation, we quantified ARGs and a mobile integron (MI) in ambient air over periods spanning rainy and dry seasons in Kanpur, India (n = 53), where open wastewater canals (OWCs) are prevalent. Gene targets represented major antibiotic groups—tetracyclines (tetA), fluoroquinolines (qnrB), and beta-lactams (blaTEM)—and a class 1 mobile integron (intI1). Over half of air samples located near, and up to 1 km from OWCs with fecal contamination (n = 45) in Kanpur had detectable targets above the experimentally determined limits of detection (LOD): most commonly intI1 and tetA (56% and 51% of samples, respectively), followed by blaTEM (8.9%) and qnrB (0%). ARG and MI densities in these positive air samples ranged from 6.9 × 101 to 5.2 × 103 gene copies/m3 air. Most (7/8) control samples collected 1 km away from OWCs were negative for any targets. In comparing experimental samples with control samples, we found that intI1 and tetA densities in air are significantly higher (P = 0.04 and P = 0.01, respectively, alpha = 0.05) near laboratory-confirmed fecal contaminated waters than at the control site. These data suggest increased densities of ARGs and MIs in bioaerosols in urban environments with inadequate sanitation. In such settings, aerosols may play a role in the spread of AR.

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Author Notes

Address correspondence to Joe Brown, Department of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, University of North Carolina, 135 Dauer Dr., Chapel Hill, NC 27599. E-mail: joebrown@unc.edu

Disclaimer: The findings and conclusions in this report are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the CDC.

Financial support: This material is based on work supported by the National Science Foundation under grant number 1653226.

Authors’ addresses: Olivia Ginn, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, E-mail: ginnolivia@gmail.com. David Berendes, Division of Foodborne, Waterborne, and Environmental Diseases, National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, GA, E-mail: uws8@cdc.gov. Anna Wood, Department of Epidemiology, Rollins School of Public Health, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, E-mail: anna.wood@emory.edu. Aaron Bivins, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Earth Science, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, E-mail: abivins@nd.edu. Lucas Rocha-Melogno, Marc A. Deshusses, and Mike Bergin, Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, and Duke Global Health Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, E-mails: lucas.rocha.melogno@duke.edu, marc.deshusses@duke.edu, and michael.bergin@duke.edu. Joe Brown, Deparment of Environmental Sciences and Engineering, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, E-mail: joebrown@unc.edu.

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