Prof. Kenneth Leung's Co-authored Paper Published in Nature Cities Revealing Hidden Health Risks in Urban Wetlands

Prof. Kenneth Leung’s co-authored paper “Urban wetlands as hotspots of antibiotic resistomes and their potential viral transmission” has been published in Nature Cities. Collaborated with Prof. ZHU Yong-Guan (CAS) and Prof. WU Feng-chang (CRAES), the team has shed light on a critical environmental health issue: the presence of "antibiotic resistomes" in urban wetlands.

 

By analysing samples from 17 urban wetlands across China, and comparing them with global datasets from natural lakes and urban raw sewage, the team finds that urban wetlands are hotspots of antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), with average abundances about 9 times higher than natural lakes, and comparable to raw urban sewage. Bacterial pathogens associated with human diseases, along with signs that ARGs may undergo “horizontal gene transfer” among bacteria—potentially facilitated by viruses in urban wetland environments, are also detected.

 

The team recommended that stormwater shall be collected and treated before it flows into urban wetlands to better protect both wildlife and human health. Learn more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s44284-026-00433-z