Climate change is boosting soil-based pathogen development warns report

The international project revealed that machine learning models predicted that ARG levels would leap by nearly a quarter by the end of the century in high emission environments.

And they said in their study published in Nature Ecology & Evolution that transformation of microbial communities could increase the likelihood of pathogens transferring from environmental sources to humans.

Co-author, water engineer professor David W. Graham of Durham University warned the findings demonstrated the connection between human health and environmental change.

“Most people do not realise that most of the pathogens that cause infectious disease humans actually originate from the environment,” he stated.

“Therefore, increasing resistance in soils will almost certainly translate into increased levels of untreatable infections in human and veterinary practice.”

The research suggests that colder regions of the earth could suffer a more pronounced effect as they warm because temperatures would no longer be sufficiently cold to kill off many human pathogens and other bacteria.

In addition, bacteria showed evidence of evolving as temperatures rose, increasing the opportunity for new pathogens to emerge.

Added Graham: “The relationship between climate and antibiotic resistance was predicted in the 2023 United Nations report: Bracing for Superbugs: Strengthening environmental action in the One Health response to antimicrobial resistance and the new work here provides concrete evidence for that prediction.”