Antibiotic resistance and antibiotic resistant gens of Pseudomonas spp. and Escherichia coli isolated from untreated hospital wastewater

Hospitals are considered an important factor in spread of ARB and ARGs. Purpose of this research was to characterize the microbial populations in hospital wastewater and investigated the prevalence of beta-lactamase, SulCYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I and QnrS resistant genes. In the first step, culture method was used for isolation of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Escherichia coli. In the next step, accurate identification of isolated bacteria was done with PCR method, then the resistance of the bacteria at different concentrations of antibiotics (8-128 mu g/mL) was examined. Eventually the ARGs were detected using PCR method. The average of HPC and ARB concentration in wastewater samples was 1.8 x 10(8) and 4.3 x 10(6) CFU/100 mL. The highest resistance rates was found for Sulfamethoxazole and the highest resistance rates in the beta-lactamase group was for ceftazidime while highest sensitivity was for gentamicin and there was no isolate that was sensitive to studied antibiotics. SulCYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I and QnrS were the highest and lowest abundance of all ARGs in samples respectively and bla(SHV) was highest beta-lactam resistant gene. Our results indicated an increase in the resistance of identified bacteria to several antibiotics. So it can be concluded that numerous antibiotic-resistant pathogens and vast ARGs exist in the human body that their release from hospitals without effective treatment, cause many dangers to the environment and human health.

Automated summary

This research characterized the microbial populations and resistant genes in hospital wastewater, finding high concentrations of HPC and ARB, with high resistance rates to Sulfamethoxazole and ceftazidime, and high sensitivity to gentamicin. SulCYRILLIC CAPITAL LETTER BYELORUSSIAN-UKRAINIAN I and QnrS were identified as the most and least abundant ARGs, respectively, with bla(SHV) being the most prevalent beta-lactam resistant gene.