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Large-scale Patterns of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Fecal Indicator Bacteria in United States Rivers and Streams
Citation:
Keely, S., N. Brinkman, E. Wheaton, M. Jahne, S. Siefring, M. Varma, Ryan A Hill, S. Leibowitz, R. Martin, J. Garland, AND Rich Haugland. Large-scale Patterns of Antimicrobial Resistance Genes and Fecal Indicator Bacteria in United States Rivers and Streams. 2021 US EPA National Recreational Water Quality Workshop, Virtual, April 06 - 08, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
This is a 3-day workshop including recreational water quality managers, stakeholders, researchers and public health officials at all levels to share information and ideas about implementing a successful recreational water program. The focus of this workshop is on two common challenges in ambient recreational waters: fecal contamination and harmful algal blooms.
Description:
Collaborating with States and Tribes, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) conducts periodic and rotating, probabilistic surveys of: U.S. rivers and streams; estuarine and Great Lakes nearshore coastal waters; lakes and ponds; and wetlands from the lower contiguous 48 states. These studies, collectively referred to as the National Aquatic Resources Surveys (NARS), are performed to provide the public and decision makers with nationally consistent and representative information on the condition of all the nation’s waters. Among the numerous parameters investigated in these surveys, EPA has determined enterococci fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) concentrations in rivers and streams from PCR analyses since 2008-2009 for comparisons with EPA national recreational water quality criteria. E. coli FIB and total bacteria were also determined from estimates of ribosomal RNA gene concentrations in the 2013-2014 rivers and streams survey samples. EPA also collected data from the 2013-2014 River and stream samples to examine the environmental heterogeneity of the class I integron integrase gene (intI1) and several antimicrobial resistance genes (ARG). Estimates of FIB, intI1 and ARG concentrations were greater in the southern, temperate, and coastal plains, as well as in the Appalachians; and lower in the Xeric and Western Mountains. Stressed ecosystems also showed higher concentrations of Int1 and ARG when compared to watershed integrity and reference sites. US Rivers and streams represent new information that will aid in understanding the role of the environment in transmission of antibiotic resistant bacteria to humans and animals.