Assessment of global health risk of antibiotic resistance genes

TLDR

ARGs have become a major microbial threat to human health, with their risk assessment complicated by factors such as abundance, horizontal transfer potential, and expression in pathogens. The study quantitatively assesses the human health risk posed by 2561 ARGs by integrating accessibility, mobility, pathogenicity, and clinical availability. Using metagenomic analysis of 4572 samples from six habitats, the authors identified 2561 ARGs conferring resistance to 24 antibiotic classes and quantified their health risk by integrating accessibility, mobility, pathogenicity, and clinical availability. The analysis revealed that 23.78% of ARGs pose a health risk, particularly multidrug‑resistant ones, and machine learning mapped marine resistance threats with over 75% accuracy, demonstrating the method’s utility for quantitative surveillance.

Abstract

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have accelerated microbial threats to human health in the last decade. Many genes can confer resistance, but evaluating the relative health risks of ARGs is complex. Factors such as the abundance, propensity for lateral transmission and ability of ARGs to be expressed in pathogens are all important. Here, an analysis at the metagenomic level from various habitats (6 types of habitats, 4572 samples) detects 2561 ARGs that collectively conferred resistance to 24 classes of antibiotics. We quantitatively evaluate the health risk to humans, defined as the risk that ARGs will confound the clinical treatment for pathogens, of these 2561 ARGs by integrating human accessibility, mobility, pathogenicity and clinical availability. Our results demonstrate that 23.78% of the ARGs pose a health risk, especially those which confer multidrug resistance. We also calculate the antibiotic resistance risks of all samples in four main habitats, and with machine learning, successfully map the antibiotic resistance threats in global marine habitats with over 75% accuracy. Our novel method for quantitatively surveilling the health risk of ARGs will help to manage one of the most important threats to human and animal health.