Treatment technologies and management options of antibiotics and AMR/ARGs

The extensive application of antibiotics for food and better health facilities has resulted in the occurrence and prevalence of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes in the environment, promoting resistance dissemination among other bacteria through selective pressure and mobile genetic elements. The increased resistance in the natural environment helps microbial pathogens to evolve and pose threats to public health. The proliferation of antibiotic resistance in the environment has now become a global issue now and focus has been given to the treatment of waste through best available options, including biological, chemical, and physical methods along with the various management options to minimize the spread of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance. This chapter focuses mainly on the applicability and recent advances in various treatment technologies used for management of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes. Efforts have been made to discuss various methods such as aerobic, anaerobic, constructed wetlands methods as biological methods, along with the various physical (adsorption, filtration, etc.) and chemical (AOPs) that are effective for the removal of antibiotics and antibiotic resistance genes. However, there is still a huge gap in information about the suitability of specific treatment methods, so further research and comprehensive studies are required to evaluate the removal efficiencies of these methods. Furthermore, the emphasis is placed on the appropriate use of antibiotics through effective management and stewardship approaches, in order to achieve significant reduction in the spread of antibiotics and antibiotics resistance genes.