Physicochemical and Molecular Evaluation of Aquatic Ecosystems Preventing Antimicrobial Resistance in Latin American Region
Key takeaways
The results provide insight into the levels and factors influencing the concentrations and transfers of metals and pathogens into rivers to prevent public health risks. Useful microbial candidates and laboratory-scale instrumentation of an economically feasible methodology were performed for the biodegradation of antibiotics. The obtained data will be useful in deeply understanding the quality of the Almendares River, particularly for predicting the ecosystem's degradation. The elaboration and implementation of a monitoring and management plan are strongly recommended.
The results provide insight into the levels and factors influencing the concentrations and transfers of metals and pathogens into rivers to prevent public health risks. Useful microbial candidates and laboratory-scale instrumentation of an economically feasible methodology were performed for the biodegradation of antibiotics. The obtained data will be useful in deeply understanding the quality of the Almendares River, particularly for predicting the ecosystem's degradation. The elaboration and implementation of a monitoring and management plan are strongly recommended.
The interdisciplinary health-environment interface research is an important tool for gaining knowledge about the processes governing the release of toxic metals and the development of resistant microorganisms into the aquatic environment. In the post-COVID-19 context, two research groups—Environmental Microbiology Group, Department F.-A. Forel for Environmental and Aquatic Sciences, Faculty of Science, Geneva University (Switzerland) and Environmental Microbiology of Microbiology and Virology Department, Biology Faculty, Havana University (Cuba)—valued the importance of determining environmental and human health risks of metals and antibiotics under tropical climatic conditions, considering Almendares River in Cuba as a study case. This idea was very timely and highly innovative since no studies had been performed to identify the prevalence of toxic metals and multidrug-resistant gram-negative bacteria in the aquatic ecosystems located in Cuba prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic period. Efforts to provide clean water for human activities contribute to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
The results provide insight into the toxic metals, antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and accumulation in sediments from Almendares River, which will help establish baseline information for healthcare providers and further recommendations. The determination of 15 metallic elements, the use of integrated pollution indices, and the joint results interpretation confirm this is one of the most extensive works of this type in the zone with many anthropogenic influences in Almendares River. The data is alarming as it indicates the presence of bacteria resistant to various antibiotics in the sediments. Additionally, a bacterial strain isolated from this ecosystem constitutes a prospect for introduction into contaminated wastewater treatment systems due to its resistance to two antibiotics selected as a case study—azithromycin and ciprofloxacin—and its biodegradation capacity. The results from this study recommended the reduction of these contaminants from the source, regulation, and optimization of wastewater treatment.
The Leading House for the Latin American Region funding instrument provided a unique platform for establishing a specific project between the Swiss and Cuban partners. The “Research Partnership Grant” enables us to prepare a solid basis for a long-term project for international institutions such as the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF) regular calls, the Solution-oriented Research for Development programme (SOR4D), the Swiss Programme for International Research by Scientific Investigation Teams (SPIRIT), and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC). The organisers from Leading House were available, communicated easily, and provided the necessary information for the best program process.
Scientific visits between partners, training, workshops, and a congress were organised between applicants. The partners from Cuba visited the University of Geneva thrice, and the partners from Switzerland visited the University of Havana. The technical workshops involved very intense technical in-depth discussions. They focused on the real possibilities of executing the project, execution periods, advanced technologies involved, the evaluation of participating personnel, and monitoring of task completion. They also allowed face-to-face exchanges between counterparts. A scientific seminar was organised to share interests between the different Research Groups of the Microbiology and Virology Department, Biology Faculty, Havana University, and the Forel Department groups, Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva.
The results provide insight into the levels and factors influencing the concentrations and transfers of metals and pathogens into rivers to prevent public health risks. Useful microbial candidates and laboratory-scale instrumentation of an economically feasible methodology were performed for the biodegradation of antibiotics. The obtained data will be useful in deeply understanding the quality of the Almendares River, particularly for predicting the ecosystem’s degradation. The elaboration and implementation of a monitoring and management plan are strongly recommended.
Other impacts were the strengthening of gender capacity and facilitating the integration of young scientists into the international network. This project maintained and reinforced the alliance between Cuba and the Swiss counterpart; each specialised in their research poles to obtain a long-term collaborative project. The results helped the applicants to prepare proposals to larger funding agencies and instruments in Latin America, Switzerland, and Europe.
One of the aspects to highlight is the possibility of exchange between two countries with different cultures and geographically distant. The opportunity for two Cuban researchers to spend a brief research stay at the Faculty of Sciences, University of Geneva, Switzerland, is noted. They had the opportunity to strengthen their preparation in advanced molecular techniques for analysing microbiological samples and to work with cutting-edge equipment to determine toxic metals in sediments, such as ICP-MS.
Furthermore, this offered the possibility of exchange not only with students, professors, and researchers of Swiss nationality but also with researchers of other nationalities, such as from India. This was a very fruitful and memorable experience. Interestingly, the data from this project provided a good opportunity for Cuban applicants to publish in high-impact journals.
