Under European Union regulations, recreational waters, including coastal waters are monitored routinely for indicators of faecal contamination, i.e. Escherichia coli and intestinal Enterococci. However not all E. coli are the same. Some E. coli may produce toxins which if ingested in even small quantities can result in serious infection, e.g. verocytotoxigenic E. coli (VTEC). Ireland has the highest incidence of human infection with VTEC across Europe. Infection with VTEC can result in serious complications including renal failure and death. Some E. coli may be resistant to antibiotics. Antibiotic resistance is cause for serious public health concern and we may be entering an era where there are no useful antibiotics left to treat infection. It is now commonplace for antibiotics, which could be relied upon 20 years ago, to fail. The Antimicrobial Resistance and Microbial Ecology (ARME) group, NUI Galway are applying a “One Health” approach to antibiotic resistance surveillance. Beaches may potentially represent an important route of transmission of pathogenic bacteria, e.g. VTEC and antimicrobial resistant Enterobacteriaceae (AMR-E). The ARME group are collaborating with several governmental agencies to examine various niches (humans, the environment, agri-food chain) for the presence of VTEC and AMR-E. This research will examine bathing waters (freshwater streams flowing onto beaches and seawater) and beach sands for VTEC and AMR-E, characterise isolates collected from these waters and compare these to human isolates of VTEC and AMR-E. Where isolates of similar characteristics are identified, molecular biology approaches will be applied to determine relatedness.
