As climate change reshapes the conditions in which pathogens survive and move, antimicrobial resistance is no longer only a question of antibiotic use. A new editorial places animal diseases at the center of this emerging risk, arguing that warming, floods, intensive farming, wastewater, and food systems can connect resistant bacteria across animals, environments, and people. Using non-typhoidal Salmonella as a sentinel, the article sets out a One Health framework for understanding how climate pressures may weaken ecological barriers that once helped contain antimicrobial resistance.
Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has traditionally been addressed through antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, and better prescribing. These measures remain essential, but animal-disease systems are increasingly exposed to pressures that do not fit within a single sector. Rising temperatures can favor bacterial growth and horizontal gene transfer (HGT), while extreme precipitation can disperse antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) through agricultural runoff, sewage, rivers, and food chains. Zoonotic pathogens such as Salmonella move naturally across these interfaces, making them useful indicators of wider human–animal–environment risks.
Published on June 29, 2026, in Animal Diseases, the editorial "Climate change and AMR in animal diseases: a one health perspective on emerging global risks" comes from the Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. It is further supported by a related research article published in The Lancet Planetary Health in 2026, which examined how climate change is associated with the global spread of antimicrobial resistance genes in Salmonella. The editorial's central contribution is a practical risk map describing a One Health–climate convergence nexus in which non-typhoidal Salmonella and ARGs circulate among hospitals, intensive agriculture, sewage treatment systems, watersheds, farms, food products, and retail environments. Climate change can intensify this loop through heat-related physiological effects on bacteria and weather-driven movement of contaminated water.
The companion Lancet Planetary Health study supplies the empirical backbone. Researchers analyzed 488,232 Salmonella genomes from 139 countries or regions across 1940–2023 and found that global average ARG abundance in Salmonella increased by 38%. Climate change was associated with a 10% rise in ARG abundance, with increases in 82 of 100 countries analyzed. Future modelling suggested that low-emission pathways, when combined with strengthened antibiotic stewardship, could reduce Salmonella ARGs by 24% compared with high-emission scenarios. In the editorial, these findings support a three-part response: climate-informed genomic surveillance, targeted animal-health interventions, and integrated cross-sectoral policies.
The authors said the work calls for a shift from reacting to resistant infections to anticipating where resistance risks may intensify. They said antimicrobial stewardship remains the foundation of AMR control, but it should be paired with climate data, animal-health monitoring, and environmental surveillance. The goal is to protect antimicrobial effectiveness before climate pressures widen existing gaps. The editorial-led framework offers clear entry points for policy and practice. Veterinary services can use climate signals to identify high-risk periods for animal-disease outbreaks. Public-health agencies can connect genomic surveillance with rainfall, temperature, wastewater, livestock, and antimicrobial-use data. Food-safety systems can strengthen monitoring after floods and heat waves. For low- and middle-income countries, the paper also highlights the need for affordable sequencing, trained personnel, and fair data-sharing agreements.
The full editorial is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s44149-026-00255-5.
