EMERGENCE OF DRUG RESISTANCE IN BACTERIAL ISOLATESFROM HOSPITAL WASTEWATER: A POTENTIAL HEALTHHAZARD
Main Article Content
Abstract
Introduction:Release of sewage effluent containing bacteria having elevated antibiotic resistance levels poses threat to
environment. The antimicrobial selective pressure through indiscriminate use of antibiotics has played a significant role in
enriching the MDRstrains in the hospital practice.
Materials and methods: Study was conducted at the department of agricultural microbiology, Aligarh Muslim University,
Aligarh, UP (India). Wastewater samples were collected from a drain of J. N. Medical College, Aligarh. Isolation of the
enterobacteria was done. All isolates were tested for their sensitivity to antimicrobial agents by means of disc diffusion
method
[1]
.
Results:In the present study, a total of 50 enterobacteria were isolated from hospital wastewater. All the isolates were
tentatively identified by morphological, cultural and biochemical characteristics. All the isolates were further tested for their
antibiotic susceptibility (Table 2). A high level of resistance against penicillin-G (90%) was observed in strains isolated
from hospital wastewater. Resistance against cloxacillin, novobiocin, nalidixic acid and polymixin Bwas 66%, 56%, 28%,
2% respectively (Table 3). All the isolates were sensitive to erythromycin, doxycycline, gentamycin, kanamycin and
chloramphenicol. Majority of isolates from wastewater were found to be resistant to multiple drug/antibiotics. Among the
fifteen antibiotics/drugs tested, sevendifferent resistance patterns were observed in enterobacteria isolated from hospital
wastewater.
Conclusion: Results of this study may be beneficial to design environment-friendly techniques for the removal of antibiotics
from wastewater to overcome the problem of antibiotic resistance development in the aquatic environment.