Mapping the evidence of the effects of environmental factors on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the non-built environment

Inaki Deza-Cruz; Alexandre de Menezes; Brian Gardner; Ilknur Aktan; Sarhad Alnajjar; Martha Elizabeth Betson; Adriana Cabal Rosel; Manuela Caniça; Mark Chambers; Georgina Tarrant; Francesca Marie Contadini; Olukayode Daramola; Rani  de la Rivière; Mary Bernadette Egan; Abel Bulamu Ekiri; Catherine Finnegan; Laura Cristina Gonzalez Villeta; Richard Green; Belinda Suzette Hall; Martin Hawes; Marwa Hassan; Sara Healy; Lisa Marie Holbrook; Guldane Damla Kaya; Prashant Kumar; Roberto Marcello La Ragione; Daniel James Maupin; Jai W. Mehat; Davide Messina; Kelly  Moon; Elizabeth Mumford; Gordon Nichols; Daniel  V. Olivença; Joaquin Prada; Claire Price; Christopher John Proudman; Retha Queenan; Miguel  Ramos; Jaime Riccomini Closa; Jennifer M. Ritchie; Lorenzo Santorelli; Nick Selemetas; Matt Spick; Yashwanth Subbannayya; Shelini Surendran; Pedro  Teixeira; Mukunthan Tharmakulasingam; Damian Valle; Arnoud H. M. Van Vliet; Marco  Videira; Hazel  Wallace-Williams; Klara Wanelik; Markus Woegerbauer; Danika Wright; Giovanni Lo Iacono

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2025.109634

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Mapping the evidence of the effects of environmental factors on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the non-built environment

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Mapping the evidence of the effects of environmental factors on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the non-built environment

Inaki Deza-Cruz, Alexandre de Menezes, Brian Gardner, Ilknur Aktan, Sarhad Alnajjar, Martha Elizabeth Betson, Adriana Cabal Rosel, Manuela Caniça, Mark Chambers, Georgina Tarrant, …

Environment International, Vol.202, 109634

08/2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envint.2025.109634

Abstract

Antibiotic resistant bacteria

ARB

Antibiotic resistance gene

Argentina

Environment

One Health

Systematic evidence mapping

SEM

Background: Antibiotic resistance increasingly threatens the interconnected health of humans, animals, and the environment. While misuse of antibiotics is a known driver, environmental factors also play a critical role. A balanced One Health approach—including the environmental sector—is necessary to understand the emergence and spread of resistance. Methods: We systematically searched English-language literature (1990–2021) in MEDLINE, Embase, and Web of Science, plus grey literature. Titles, abstracts, and keywords were screened, followed by full-text reviews using a structured codebook and dual-reviewer assessments. Results: Of 13,667 records screened, 738 met the inclusion criteria. Most studies focused on freshwater and terrestrial environments, particularly associated with wastewater or manure sources. Evidence of research has predominantly focused on Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas spp., with a concentration on ARGs conferring resistance to sulphonamides (sul1–3), tetracyclines (tet), and beta-lactams. Additionally, the People’s Republic of China has produced a third of the studies—twice that of the next country, the United States—and research was largely domestic, with closely linked author networks. Conclusion: Significant evidence gaps persist in understanding antibiotic resistance in non-built environments, particularly in marine, atmospheric, and non-agricultural set65 tings. Stressors such as climate change and microplastics remain notably under-explored. There is also an urgent need for more research in low-income regions, which face higher risks of antibiotic resistance, to support the development of targeted, evidence-based interventions.

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Title: Mapping the evidence of the effects of environmental factors on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the non-built environment
Creators: Inaki Deza-Cruz - University of Edinburgh
Alexandre de Menezes - University of Galway
Brian Gardner - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Ilknur Aktan - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Sarhad Alnajjar - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Martha Elizabeth Betson - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Adriana Cabal Rosel - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
Manuela Caniça - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
Mark Chambers - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Georgina Tarrant - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Francesca Marie Contadini - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Olukayode Daramola - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Rani de la Rivière - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
Mary Bernadette Egan - University of Surrey, School of Psychology
Abel Bulamu Ekiri - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Catherine Finnegan - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Laura Cristina Gonzalez Villeta - Animal and Plant Health Agency
Richard Green - University of Surrey, School of Health Sciences
Belinda Suzette Hall - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Martin Hawes - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Marwa Hassan - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Sara Healy - Royal Veterinary College
Lisa Marie Holbrook - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Guldane Damla Kaya - University of Surrey, School of Health Sciences
Prashant Kumar - University of Surrey, School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering
Roberto Marcello La Ragione - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Daniel James Maupin - University of Surrey, School of Health Sciences
Jai W. Mehat - University of Surrey
Davide Messina - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Kelly Moon - University of Leeds
Elizabeth Mumford - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Gordon Nichols - UK Health Security Agency
Daniel V. Olivença - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
Joaquin Prada - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Claire Price - University of Surrey, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences
Christopher John Proudman - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Retha Queenan - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Miguel Ramos - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
Jaime Riccomini Closa - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Jennifer M. Ritchie - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Lorenzo Santorelli - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Nick Selemetas - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Matt Spick - University of Surrey, School of Health Sciences
Yashwanth Subbannayya - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Shelini Surendran - University of Surrey, Institute for Sustainability
Pedro Teixeira - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
Mukunthan Tharmakulasingam - University of Surrey, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering
Damian Valle - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Arnoud H. M. Van Vliet - University of Surrey
Marco Videira - National Institute of Health Dr. Ricardo Jorge
Hazel Wallace-Williams - University of Surrey, School of Psychology
Klara Wanelik - University of Surrey, School of Biosciences
Markus Woegerbauer - Austrian Agency for Health and Food Safety
Danika Wright - University of Sydney
Giovanni Lo Iacono - University of Surrey, School of Veterinary Medicine
Publication Details: Environment International, Vol.202, 109634
Publisher: Elsevier
Number of pages: 23
First online publication date: 27/07/2025
Publication Date: 08/2025
Date accepted for publication: 23/06/2025
Grants: One Health EJP: Promoting One Health in Europe through joint actions on foodborne zoonoses, antimicrobial resistance and emerging microbiological hazards., 773830, European Commission (Belgium, Brussels) - EC
EP/W034034/1, UK Research and Innovation (United Kingdom, Swindon) - UKRI
101136346 EUPAHW, European Union (Belgium, Brussels) - EU
Grant note: This work was mainly supported by funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation programme under grant agreement No 773830: One Health European Joint Programme (FED-AMR project). This work was also partly co-funded by the European Union’s Horizon Europe Project 101136346 EUPAHW. PK acknowledges the support received from the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) funded project RECLAIM Network Plus (EP/W034034/1). The funder had no role in the research. For the purpose of Open Access, the author has applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) public copyright licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising from this submission.
Identifiers: 991006566102346; WOS:001546508800003
Copyright: © 2025 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/). For the purpose of open access, the authors have applied a Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) licence to any Author Accepted Manuscript version arising.
Academic Unit: School of Veterinary Medicine; Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences; Institute for Sustainability; School of Health Sciences; School of Mechanical Engineering Sciences; School of Biosciences; School of Sustainability, Civil and Environmental Engineering; School of Psychology
Resource Type: Journal article
Data Access Statement: Data are available in the Supplementary Material and external repository provided.

Mapping the evidence of the effects of environmental factors on the prevalence of antibiotic resistance in the non-built environment

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