Key environmental exposure pathways to antimicrobial resistant bacteria in southern Malawi: A SaniPath approach.

ABSTRACT: Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) poses a severe global health threat, yet the transmission pathways of AMR within communal public environments, where humans and animals interact, remain poorly explored. This study investigated AMR risk pathways, prevalence, and seasonality of extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing E. coli and K. pneumoniae, and observed practices contributing to environmental contamination within urban, peri-urban, and rural Malawi. Using the SaniPath tool, in August 2020, transect walks across three Malawian study sites identified potential AMR exposure pathways, including drains, standing water, soil, and areas of communal hand contact. Subsequently, from September-2020 to August-2021, 1440 environmental samples were collected at critical points along exposure rout

SUBMITTER: Mwapasa T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11234251 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature