A study of bacterial profile and antibiotic susceptibility pattern found in drinking water at district Mansehra, Pakistan

Pathogenic microorganism in water causes a serious threat to human health, particularly in developing and non-developing countries. The main aim of this article is to highlight the microbial contamination of drinking water in district Mansehra, Pakistan. In the current study, a total of 50 water samples were obtained from a tap, storage tanks and tube well water from the different sites at district Mansehra. Out of 50 samples, 46 samples i.e. 92% were identified positive for pathogenic bacteria. A total of 101 bacterial strains were found out from these water samples. Out of these, 74% were identified as E. coli, followed by Salmonella spp. 54%, Shigella spp. 40%, and Klebsiella 36%. Antibiotic susceptibility test was performed by the disk diffusion method against each strain by using antibiotic Amoxicillin, augmentin, clindamycin, levofloxacin, and cefixime. Cefixime is a most sensitive antibiotic against E. coli and Salmonella having a zone of 34 cm and 30 cm, respectively. levofloxacin has a large zone of inhibition against Shigella i.e. 28 cm, the most resistant bacteria are E. coli and Salmonella that show resistance to antibiotics i.e. clindamycin and amoxicillin while the Shigella is susceptible one against which all the antibiotics produce a zone of inhibition.