Aircraft lavatory wastewater surveillance for movement of antimicrobial resistance genes: a proof-of-concept study

A study on long-haul flight aircraft wastewater revealed that it can serve as a global microbial footprint, providing insights into pathogen movement and antimicrobial resistance. The study investigated lavatory wastewater samples from 44 repatriation flights from nine countries, detecting pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. Results showed geographic differences in ARG abundance, suggesting a potential risk of importing rare ARGs. Nucleic acid targets were found to be resilient enough to persist in aircraft wastewater over the flight’s duration.