Publications by authors named "Irene Michael-Kordatou"

With the global concerns on antibiotic resistance (AR) as a public health issue, it is pivotal to have data exchange platforms for studies on antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) in the environment. For this purpose, the NORMAN Association is hosting the NORMAN ARB&ARG database, which was developed within the European project ANSWER. The present article provides an overview on the database functionalities, the extraction and the contribution of data to the database.

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Ultrafiltration (UF) was assessed at chemical, microbiological, genetical and toxicological level and in terms of removing specific antibiotic-related microcontaminants from urban wastewater. The UF capacity to remove various antibiotics (clarithromycin, erythromycin, ampicillin, ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole, trimethoprim, and tetracycline; [A] = 100 μg L) was optimised with respect to the feed recirculation rate (25-50%) and feed/transmembrane pressure (1.5-3/1.

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An assessment comprising chemical, microbiological and (eco)toxicological parameters of antibiotic-related microcontaminants, during the application of UV-C/HO oxidation in secondary-treated urban wastewater, is presented. The process was investigated at bench scale under different oxidant doses (0-50 mg L) with regard to its capacity to degrade a mixture of antibiotics (i.e.

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A comprehensive monitoring of a broad set of antibiotics in the final effluent of wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) of 7 European countries (Portugal, Spain, Ireland, Cyprus, Germany, Finland, and Norway) was carried out in two consecutive years (2015 and 2016). This is the first study of this kind performed at an international level. Within the 53 antibiotics monitored 17 were detected at least once in the final effluent of the WWTPs, i.

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Article Synopsis
  • Integrated antibiotic resistance surveillance is a key goal of the WHO's action plan, targeting urban wastewater treatment plants (UWTPs) as both important sources and receptors of environmental antibiotic resistance (AR).
  • A study involving 12 UWTPs across seven European countries revealed that the AR profiles in wastewater closely reflected the increasing clinical AR rates observed from north to south in Europe.
  • Factors like antibiotic usage, environmental temperature, and the size of UWTPs significantly influence the persistence and spread of resistance, underscoring the necessity for ongoing surveillance and tailored control strategies based on geographic specifics.
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