A recent study presented at the 7th Africa Continental World Antimicrobial Awareness Week (WAAW) event has unveiled the “environmental resistome” in Tanzania. Using advanced genomic tools to analyse wastewater and environmental surveillance (WES) from Dar es Salaam and Tanga, pilot sites where the project is being implemented, the study’s preliminary results provide a population-level snapshot of circulating antimicrobial resistance (AMR) genes in environmental ecosystems. The researchers detected signals of resistance to common antimicrobial drugs and pinpointed hotspots of antimicrobial resistance “superbug”. These results offer a complementary tool for surveillance to inform targeted interventions, bridging the One Health gap created by the traditional focus on clinical surveillance, often overlooking the environmental reservoirs of AMR. “Using advanced genomic tools, we tested local wastewater and uncovered a hidden landscape of AMR threats. This environmental surveillance approach provides an early warning tool for public health.” Jackson Claver, Head of Genomics Department, NPHL.
Dr Vito Baraka, Principal Scientist and lead Investigator in Tanzania, explained that “WES of pathogens and AMR is a radar of population health, what goes down our drains tells a story about our community health. This wastewater and environmental based surveillance provide a complementary tool for detecting early signals in our communities including AMR threats, informing targeted public health interventions, and protecting our communities. The approach is effective, empowering preventive actions and enabling us to take precise measures to safeguard our antimicrobial agents.”
Dr Eric Lyimo, co-Investigator in the study highlighted that: “AMR doesn’t respect boundaries, and its cross-cutting issue that need multisectoral and multidisciplinary approach. AMR genes from farms, hospitals, and households can mix in our wasteways and environment. Therefore, protecting our antibiotics requires a integrated approach across through One Health concept, cutting across all sectors including human, veterinary and agriculture and environmental ecosystems.”
The ODIN project, funded by the European & Developing Countries Clinical Trials Partnership (EDCTP3), is a multinational initiative. The ODIN Consortium brings together North-South partners and integrates high-capacity genomic technologies to advance wastewater surveillance for public health impact. The consortium brings together partners from the National Institute for Medical Research (NIMR) and National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL) in Tanzania, the University of Kinshasa (UNIKIN) in DR Congo, and the Institut de Recherche en Sciences de la Santé (IRSS) in Burkina Faso together with NORCE (Norway), VIB-UGent (Belgium), the TGHN University of Oxford’s Global Health Network (UK), the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare (THL), and Lund University, Sweden. This collaborative platform is dedicated to exchanging technological innovation, strengthening capacity, advancing methodological approaches in WES and translating pathogen genomic data into actionable public health intelligence. This collaborative model ensures that surveillance tools are co-developed, context-specific and validated within the local settings. The project also focused on capacity strengthening to create and strengthen a scalable blueprint for WES across sub-Saharan Africa. #MinistryOfHealth #NIMR #NPHL #WastewaterAndEnvironmentalSurveillance. #AdvancingHealthResearch#EnhancingLife#ODIN#WES