Climate Change and Antimicrobial Resistance Converge: A One Health Perspective on Animal Diseases

A new editorial published in the journal Animal Diseases argues that climate change is reshaping the fight against antimicrobial resistance (AMR) in animal diseases, calling for a One Health approach that integrates climate data, genomic surveillance, and cross-sectoral policies. The editorial, titled "Climate change and AMR in animal diseases: a one health perspective on emerging global risks," was released on June 29, 2026, by researchers from the Hangzhou Institute for Advanced Study, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences. It highlights how warming temperatures, extreme precipitation, intensive farming, wastewater systems, and food supply chains can facilitate the movement of resistant bacteria across animals, environments, and humans.

Traditionally, AMR has been addressed through antimicrobial stewardship, infection control, and better prescribing practices. However, the editorial emphasizes that animal-disease systems are increasingly exposed to pressures that cross sectoral boundaries. Rising temperatures can favor bacterial growth and horizontal gene transfer, while floods and heavy rainfall can disperse antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) through agricultural runoff, sewage, rivers, and food chains. Zoonotic pathogens such as non-typhoidal Salmonella serve as sentinel indicators of these interconnected risks.

The editorial is supported by a companion global genomic study published in The Lancet Planetary Health in 2026, which analyzed 488,232 Salmonella genomes from 139 countries or regions spanning 1940 to 2023. The study found that global average ARG abundance in Salmonella increased by 38%, with climate change associated with a 10% rise in ARG abundance across 82 of 100 countries analyzed. Future modelling indicated that low-emission pathways combined with strengthened antibiotic stewardship could reduce Salmonella ARGs by 24% compared with high-emission scenarios.

The editorial proposes a practical risk map, describing a One Health–climate convergence nexus where Salmonella and ARGs circulate among hospitals, intensive agriculture, sewage treatment systems, watersheds, farms, food products, and retail environments. Climate change intensifies this loop through heat-related physiological effects on bacteria and weather-driven movement of contaminated water. The authors call for a three-part response: climate-informed genomic surveillance, targeted animal-health interventions, and integrated cross-sectoral policies that move AMR control from isolated programs to coordinated prevention across climate, livestock, environment, and health systems.

For industry and policymakers, the implications are significant. Veterinary services can use climate signals to identify high-risk periods for disease outbreaks and resistant infections. Public-health agencies can connect genomic surveillance with rainfall, temperature, wastewater, livestock, and antimicrobial-use data. Food-safety systems can strengthen monitoring after floods, heat waves, and other disruptions that may mobilize resistant bacteria. In low- and middle-income countries, the work highlights the need for affordable sequencing, trained personnel, and fair data-sharing agreements. Ultimately, the editorial argues that climate mitigation, animal health, sanitation, and antibiotic stewardship should be treated as one interconnected investment in global health security, especially in regions where climate vulnerability and AMR burden overlap.

The full editorial is available at https://doi.org/10.1186/s44149-026-00255-5, and additional information about the journal can be found at http://chuanlink-innovations.com.