BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Freshw. Sci.
Sec. Freshwater – Human Impacts
This article is part of the Research TopicEditors' Showcase: Freshwater – Human ImpactsView all 4 articles
Detection of Microplastics and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria Contamination in a River of Central Italy
Provisionally accepted
- University of Camerino, Camerino, Italy
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Plastic pollution and antimicrobial resistance (AMR) represent two critical environmental and health threats in aquatic environments. The combined presence in river water of microplastics (MPs), particles smaller 5 mm, and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), may enhance the spread of antibiotic resistances, as MPs can provide the surfaces for ARB colonization and their delivery throughout the environment. In this study, we aimed to quantify MP pollution and to detect the presence of clinically relevant ARB in the Chienti River (Central Italy). The concentration of MPs, collected using a Manta-Net at two representative sites, was found in the range from 0.046 to 0.060 fragments/m3 at the upstream site and 0.049 to 0.059 fragments/m3 at the site near the river mouth. Recovered MPs were analysed by Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR). Polyethylene (PE) was the most abundant polymer accounting for over 60% of the total plastic debris detected. River water samples collected from the same sites were filtered and cultivated into selective agar medium to isolate third-generation cephalosporin (3GC)-resistant Enterobacteriaceae. Phenotypic characterization of 3GC-resistant isolates, belonging to the species of E. coli, Enterobacter cloacae, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Citrobacter koseri and S. enterica, highlighted the presence of 44% multidrug resistance profiles. The presence of MPs and clinically relevant MDR 3GC-Entereobacteriaceae in the same ecological niche suggests a possible link between these two variables. Findings of this research underline the need for integrated freshwater monitoring and microbiological surveillance to evaluate the impact of their co-presence on public health.
Keywords: Microplastics1, Pollution2, River water3, antimicrobial resistance4, Enterobacteriales
Received: 13 May 2025; Accepted: 12 Dec 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Alfonsi, Spurio, Gabrielli, Pastore, Stella and Petrelli. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Dezemona Petrelli
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