Antibiotic resistance is a growing global threat to public health and modern medicine. In Johan Bengtsson-Palme’s research group, efforts are focused on identifying new forms of resistance to prevent them from spreading in society.
To understand how antibiotic resistance emerges and spreads, Johan Bengtsson-Palme, Assistant Professor at the Department of Life Sciences, and his research group are conducting large-scale DNA sequencing of bacterial genomes. Several of their projects aim to identify the next generation of antibiotic resistance.
“We want to identify future threats. We try to figure out what kinds of resistance might appear in hospitals and whether there are ways to stop these new forms before they spread among pathogenic bacteria,” says Johan Bengtsson-Palme.
The most vunerable are at the highest risk
A significant global challenge today is that many diseases will soon be untreatable with antibiotics. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), over one million people currently die worldwide each year due to antibiotic-resistant bacteria, and resistance is a contributing factor in nearly five million deaths annually.
“If we don’t tackle this problem, over 10 million people are estimated to die each year from antibiotic-resistant infections within the next 30 years. This means that everyone will know someone who dies from resistant bacteria − every year. The problem is that this, like climate change, is unfolding silently in the background,” says Johan Bengtsson-Palme, adding:
“If antibiotics stop working, modern healthcare will be set back brutally by decades. Life-threatening bacterial infections would go untreated, and procedures like surgeries, C-sections, care for premature infants, and cancer treatments would become complicated and potentially lethal. The most vulnerable groups − seniors, immunocompromised individuals, and, most critically, people without access to modern healthcare − would be at the highest risk.”
Antibiotic resistance in the environment is monitored
In his work, Johan Bengtsson-Palme coordinates a research program for monitoring antibiotic resistance in the environment. Such monitoring has two aims. The most common is to use, for example, wastewater to quickly assess resistance levels across a larger region, such as an entire city − a method that was frequently used during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The second, somewhat more unusual goal, is to track antibiotic resistance in locations other than wastewater treatment plants, such as streams, drinking water, or in the food production chain, to detect the pathways in which resistance spreads, as well as risk environments.
“We have been working extensively on this in our research program EMBARK, which aimed to develop cost-effective methods for environmental monitoring of antibiotic resistance. The project was recently extended under the name SEARCHER to more specifically examine how we can integrate new forms of antibiotic resistance into environmental monitoring,” says Johan Bengtsson-Palme.
This monitoring is intended to function as the canaries were used in the past in the coal mine, helping miners to detect dangerous gases before they could be sensed by or harm humans.
“We want to find early warning signs that can help us stop the spread of new antibiotic resistance before it becomes a major problem in healthcare. In the long term, we also aim to develop tools to predict which specific environments have particularly high risk for the development of new antibiotic resistance.”
Collaboration − the key to success
Johan Bengtsson-Palme is a member of the steering group for the Centre for Antibiotic Resistance Research in Gothenburg, CARe, (link) which is a platform for collaboration between the University of Gothenburg, Chalmers, and healthcare institutions, supported by Sahlgrenska University Hospital and the Västra Götaland region. Like other colleagues in the department who are involved in CARe, he believes that collaboration is essential for success in the fight against resistance.
“For example, over the years, there has been a very interesting discussion on ethics related to antibiotic use and resistance development with researchers from various fields. When researchers in philosophy meet those in medicine and natural sciences on a topic of shared interest, you gain new insights and perspectives on the problems. I think CARe is one reason why Gothenburg is at the forefront of antibiotic resistance research.”
Read more about Johan Bengtsson-Palme's research
- Previously unknown antibiotic resistance widespread among bacteria
- Boost for Chalmers' research on antibiotics resistance
Contact
- Assistant Professor, Systems Biology, Life Sciences