Editorial: Antimicrobial resistance in aquatic environments — Bridging surveillance, ecology, and one health action

Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is widely recognised as a major
global threat, with health and economic consequences extending across
and overlapping with human, animal, and environmental systems [1].
Perhaps the best example of a One Health challenge, the so-called AMR
“silent pandemic” is a complex problem driven by anthropogenic activities, which must be tackled across the three realms [2]. Efforts to
address AMR have historically focused on clinical and agricultural settings, however, there is increasing recognition that environmental
pathways play a critical role in the emergence, persistence, and
dissemination of antimicrobial resistant organisms (AROs) and antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) [3,4]. Aquatic environments are of
particular importance as they receive inputs from diverse anthropogenic
sources, including wastewater, agricultural runoff, and industrial discharges, thus creating conditions that support the selection of AROs and
horizontal transmission of ARGs [5]. Compounding this, aquatic systems
also connect human, animal, and environmental compartments, facilitating the movement of resistant organisms across ecological boundaries
[6]. As such, a global strategic priority is understanding the role of
aquatic environments, which is central to developing effective and integrated One Health responses to AMR [1]. The objective of this Special
Issue of One Health is to advance our understanding of AMR in aquatic
systems and identify key methodological and conceptual gaps.