Evidence for a Complex Relationship between Antibiotics and Antibiotic-Resistant Escherichia Coli: From Medical Center Patients to a Receiving Environment

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant fecal bacteria (E. coli) in water along a medical center-wastewater treatment plant-river continuum (4 km). A multiresidue chemical analysis methodology, using solid phase extraction coupled with liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry, was performed to detect whether low levels of contamination by 34 antibiotics were related to antibiotic resistance of E. coli and antibiotic use. The contamination of water by antibiotics and antibiotic-resistant E. coli decreased along the continuum. Although amoxicillin was predominantly prescribed, only ofloxacin (1 ng.L-1) and sulfamethoxazole (4 ng.L-1) persisted in the river. At the retirement home, in the medical center, even though no tetracycline and sulfamethoxazole were consumed, the highest occurrences of antibiotic resistance were in classes of quinolones (42.0%), sulfonamides (24.0%), tetracyclines (38.0%), and penicillins (38.0%), mainly due to the presence of multiple antibiotic-resistance genes on class 1 integrons. Along the continuum, the occurrence of E. coli resistant to antibiotics and those carrying class 1 integrons decreased in water samples (p-value <0.001). Interestingly, in the river, only persistent antibiotic compounds (ofloxacin, sulfamethoxazole) were found, but they did not correspond to the major resistances (tetracycline, amoxicillin) of E. coli.