Abstract:
The discovery of antibiotics, which was once regarded as a timely medical intervention
now leaves a bitter aftertaste: antimicrobial resistance (AMR), due to the unregulated
use of these compounds and the poor management receiving wastewaters before
discharge into pristine environments or the recycling of such treated waters.
Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been regarded a central sink for the
mostly unmetabolized or partially metabolised antibiotics and is also pivotal to
the incidence of antibiotic resistance bacteria (ARBs) and their resistance genes
(ARGs), which consistently contribute to the global disease burden and deteriorating
prophylaxis. In this regard, we highlighted WWTP-antibiotics consumption-ARBs-
ARGs nexus, which might be critical to understanding the epidemiology of AMR and
also guide the precise prevention and remediation of such occurrences. We also
discovered the unsophistication of conventional WWTPs and treatment techniques
for adequate treatment of antibiotics, ARBs and ARGs, due to their lack of compliance
with environmental sustainability, then ultimately assessed the prospects of cold
atmospheric plasma (CAP). Herein, we observed that CAP technologies not only has
the capability to disinfect wastewater polluted with copious amounts of chemicals
and biologicals, but also have a potential to augment bioelectricity generation,
when integrated into bio electrochemical modules, which future WWTPs should
be retrofitted to accommodate. Therefore, further research should be conducted to
unveil more of the unknowns, which only a snippet has been highlighted in this study.
