Antibiotic resistance is the ability of a micro-organism to withstand the effects of antibiotics. There are three mechanisms that can cause antibiotic resistance: prevention of interaction of drug with target, decreased uptake due to either an increased efflux or a decreased influx of the antimicrobial agent and enzymatic modification or destruction of the compound. In the past couple years, antibiotic resistance has become an increasing public health concern. Tuberculosis, gonorrhoea, malaria and childhood ear infections are just a few of the diseases that have become hard to treat with antibiotic drugs. This book addresses the concern that over the past few years, there has been a major rise in resistance to antibiotics among gram-negative bacteria. New antibacterial drugs with novel modes of actions are urgently required in order to fight against infection. Novel antibiotics such as linezolid, carbapenem ertapenem, daptomycin and gemifloxacin are examined in this book. The genetic approaches used in risk assessment of antibiotic resistance dissemination are looked at as well. Furthermore, this book discusses the present studies on the use of veterinary antibiotics in agriculture, on the occurrence of antibiotic compounds and resistant bacteria in soil and water and clearly demonstrates the need for further studies.

Understanding the origin of fecal pollution is essential in assessing potential health risks as well as for determining the actions necessary to remediate the quality of waters contaminated by fecal matter. As a result, microbial source tracking (MST) has emerged as a field that has evolved and diversified rapidly since the first approaches were described only a decade ago. In response to the emergence of MST, there have been three large multi-laboratory method comparison studies (two in the US and one in Europe), plus numerous workshops, book chapters, and review articles dedicated to synthesizing information on the topic. Furthermore, a federal (USEPA) guide document describing the uses and limitations of MST methods was published in 2005, and a book dedicated to MST as an emerging issue in food safety was published in 2007. These documents provide a collective body of literature on MST that is both conflicting and complementary, often repetitious, and difficult to condense and interpret. In addition, it does not reflect the current diversity of MST approaches with different organisms, newer methodologies such as quantitative PCR, and anthropogenic chemicals, nor does it embrace the scope of MST research being conducted around the world. The three editors of the book, all with extensive MST expertise, have developed chapters and invited authors who reflect the rich diversity and truly international scope of MST. The unifying theme throughout the book is the design of more standardized approaches to MST that include performance criteria (regardless of method or organism), plus recommendations for field study design and MST implementation. The editors intend that this book will serve as a valuable reference for all those who are involved with

Presents a state-of-the-art review of the current technology and applications being utilized to identify sources of fecal contamination in waterways. - Serves as a useful reference for researchers in the food industry, especially scientists investigating etiological agents responsible for food contamination. - Provides background information on MST methods and the assumptions and limitations associated with their use. - Covers a broad range of topics related to MST, including environmental monitoring, public health and national security, population biology, and microbial ecology. - Offers valuable insights into future research directions and technology developments.

The rapid conversion of land to urban and suburban areas has profoundly altered how water flows during and following storm events, putting higher volumes of water and more pollutants into the nation's rivers, lakes, and estuaries. These changes have degraded water quality and habitat in virtually every urban stream system. The Clean Water Act regulatory framework for addressing sewage and industrial wastes is not well suited to the more difficult problem of stormwater discharges. This book calls for an entirely new permitting structure that would put authority and accountability for stormwater discharges at the municipal level. A number of additional actions, such as conserving natural areas, reducing hard surface cover (e.g., roads and parking lots), and retrofitting urban areas with features that hold and treat stormwater, are recommended.