Very low concentrations of heavy metals, antibiotics contribute to resistance

New Swedish research shows that plasmids containing genes that confer resistance to antibiotics can be enriched by very low concentrations of antibiotics and heavy metals....When these chemicals spread in the environment, bacteria with resistant plasmids will be selected. This indirectly results in antibiotic resistance increasing as well. What's more, in most environments there are complex mixtures of antibiotics, biocides and heavy metals that, together, have intensified combination effects,' Andersson continues....'These results are worrying and suggest that substances other than antibiotics that are present in very small quantities in the environment can drive development of resistance as well. The results underline the importance of reducing the use of antibiotics, but also suggest that our high use of heavy metals and biocides in various contexts should decrease too,' says Andersson.

Co-occurrence of resistance genes to antibiotics, biocides and metals reveals novel insights into their co-selection potential  

The ‘ARG-BMRG cluster’ suggests that mercury and QACs are particularly likely to co-select for antibiotic resistance to a range of different classes of antibiotics. Although mercury compounds are nowadays rarely used in clinical settings and in agriculture, resistance genes to mercury are frequently found together with ARGs on plasmids, especially on plasmids with class 1 integrons and transposons [28]. Recently, a correlation between environmental mercury exposure and increased antibiotic resistance has been observed in E. coli isolates from different human populations [29]. Furthermore, 25 % of some 800 antibiotic-resistance plasmids isolated from clinical E. coli strains carried mercury resistance determinants [30]. Genetic co-occurrences and empirical observations together provide indications that mercury can promote resistance to a wide range of antibiotics.

The Association Between Mercury Levels and Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis 

Results of the current meta-analysis revealed that mercury is an important causal factor in the etiology of ASD. It seems that the detoxification and excretory mechanisms are impaired in ASD patients which lead to accumulation of mercury in the body. Future additional studies on mercury levels in different tissues of ASD patients should be undertaken.

New Jersey preschoolers have highest autism rates in the nation, researchers say   New Jersey preschoolers have the highest rates of autism ever measured in the United States, a rate that has increased faster than in other states studied, researchers at Rutgers University reported Thursday. The rate of autism among children in the state has tripled in a generation. ..."The explosive rate of autism is impossible to ignore," 

“Legacy” Mercury Pollution Still a Problem in New Jersey Meadowlands Waters        “Legacy” mercury pollution from decades ago and miles away is an important source of contamination in New Jersey Meadowlands waterways, according to a Rutgers-led study that could help guide cleanup efforts.

Antibiotic Resistance Pattern Among Gram Negative Mercury Resistant Bacteria Isolated From Contaminated Environments

Our results showed that Hg resistance genes in contaminated areas are exchanged between residing bacteria along with the antibiotic resistance genes and resulted in prevalence of antibiotic resistance among residing bacteria.

Study suggests link between environmental mercury, autism   “The main finding is that for every 1,000 pounds of environmentally released mercury, we saw a 17 percent increase in autism rates,”....Large-scale mercury exposures such as accidental spills long have been implicated with developmental disabilities, but this study is among the first to examine the relationship between potentially chronic, low-dose mercury exposure and a developmental disorder such as autism, Dr. Palmer said.

Is exposure to mercury a driving force for the carriage of antibiotic resistance genes? 

….the data that we have presented support the hypothesized link between mercury and antibiotic resistance, which likely should be studied prospectively on a larger scale.

There are connections here that need further research. Mercury has become a dirty word as it does have a connection to vaccines.  It is important to be able to discuss its involvement in antibiotic resistance as this is a new development and an important clue in autism.

Other Connections That Need A Spotlight

Vaccines Are Pushing Pathogens to Evolve  

Recent research suggests, however, that some pathogen populations are adapting in ways that help them survive in a vaccinated world, and that these changes come about in a variety of ways. Just as the mammal population exploded after dinosaurs went extinct because a big niche opened up for them, some microbes have swept in to take the place of competitors eliminated by vaccines.

Vaccination can drive an increase in frequencies of antibiotic resistance among non-vaccine serotypes of Streptococcus pneumoniae

The bacterial pathogen Streptococcus pneumoniae is a major public health concern, being 16 responsible for more than 1.5 million deaths annually through pneumonia, meningitis and 17 septicemia. Available vaccines target only a subset of serotypes and so vaccination is often 18 accompanied by a rise in the frequency of non-vaccine serotypes. Epidemiological studies suggest 19 that such a change in serotype frequencies is often coupled with an increase of antibiotic resistance 20 among non-vaccine serotypes......

“Vaccination”, another word that can cause a frenzy of emotions but it is important to look at data and how these medical phenomena occur.  It ultimately comes down to --- how to help those very ill.  

The Association between Autism Spectrum Disorder and Pre- and Postnatal Antibiotic Exposure in Childhood—A Systematic Review with Meta-Analysis  Specifically, prenatal antibiotic exposure was significantly increased in children with ASD; however, postnatal antibiotic exposure was not.

Antimicrobial-resistance genes in the human gut prior to the antibiotic-therapy era   

Antibiotic-resistance has long been associated with the use and abuse of antibiotics. However, increasing evidence is suggesting that antibiotic-resistance is in fact a phenomenon that has been occurring in natural environments for thousands and possibly millions of years.,,,,,This has also enabled the characterization of ancient human gut microbiomes, which also include antibiotic-resistance genes..... Mummified gut remains represent a unique opportunity to characterize the microbiome and antibiotic-resistance genes prior to the antibiotic-therapy era. Surprisingly, mummies from the Inca and Italian nobility cultures showed to possess antibiotic-resistance-like genes similar to modern-day antibiotic-resistance genes .......   

Some may find that incredible --  that ancient mummies had antibiotic resistant genes as there were not even any antibiotics then!  But again, looking at the other known culprit that can cause this, mercury, we can see how antibiotic resistance could have happened .  It’s worth mentioning that the first children ever identified with a new disorder coined, “autism” by Dr. Leo Kanner, were children born beginning in 1931 . No antibiotics then either, yet the parents had many connections to toxic chemicals, especially mercury .  There is no denying that antibiotic resistance has increased over the years.

Our gratitude for this image from Clearview Health.

But as we can see from all of this research, there can be much more to this science of antibiotic resistance.  It is crucial to look at the treatments also. We will do that in Part 2.