Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest challenges we are facing in human health today. 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. The One Health approach recognizes that the health of humans, the health of animals and the health of our shared environment are interlinked. There is a need to better understand the role of wildlife in the transmission of antibiotic resistance. The role of wildlife in the transmission of organisms of human health concern is very well illustrated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Current evidence suggests that the virus that causes COVID-19 originated in bats and was transmitted to humans via one or more intermediary animal host. This project will build on previous and ongoing work of the ARME group and examine the role of wildlife species in the transmission and persistence of antibiotic resistance.
