A research project based at Heidelberg University and Heidelberg University Hospital targets plastic particles and climate change as driving factors for the spread of antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in the environment. The participating researchers will investigate socio-ecological interactions within aquatic habitats affected by plastic pollution, contamination with antibiotics and climatic influences, and explore environmental and health-related impacts in the context of Planetary Health. The project is led by Prof.
Dr Joacim Rocklöv, Humboldt Professor at the Interdisciplinary Center for Scientific Computing and the Heidelberg Institute of Global Health, and comprises eleven international partners, including the Research Institute for Tropical Medicine in the Philippine Department of Health. The European Union is funding the four and a half-year international collaboration project with more than six million euros. "Scientific research is needed to show evidence on how plastic pollution in bodies of water combined with antibiotic contaminants is contributing to antimicrobial resistance spreading in the environment, threatening the health of people, animals, and ecosystems - especially in times of climate change," explains Prof.
Rocklöv, who heads the Climate-Sensitive Infectious Diseases Lab (CSIDlab). Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are known to exist in the sea, in rivers, ponds or lakes, presenting a risk of infection, in particular for people who bathe in these waters .
