Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a slow pandemic that poses a significant global threat to public health, with the human and animal gut microbiota serving as major reservoirs for AMR transmission. This thesis focuses on the dynamics of AMR in a One Health context of a limited resource setting, driven by high antibiotic consumption in humans and animals and antibiotic resistance in the environment. The research aimed to understand the impact of antibiotics on the human gut microbiota and to assess the transmission of antimicrobial resistance through interactions between animals, humans, and their environment in a rural community in Vietnam. The findings underscore the mediating role of antibiotics on the state of the gut microbiota showing the sharing of resistant bacteria and resistance genes in a One Health context. To combat AMR, reducing antimicrobial selection pressure and taking cross-sectoral actions under a One Health approach is vital for protecting the effectiveness of antibiotics.
Bich V.T.N (1981) obtained her Master’s degree from Chosun University, Korea in 2007, after which she worked as a Research Assistant at the Centre for Tropical Medicine, Oxford University Clinical Research Unit (OUCRU), Vietnam. In 2017, she began her PhD research that was conducted at the Radboudumc in the Department of Medical Microbiology in conjunction with OUCRU – Vietnam and Maastricht UMC.