Antibiotic resistance profiles of environmental isolates from Mhlathuze River, KwaZulu-Natal (RSA)

Abstract

One hundred and thirteen enteric bacteria were isolated from the Mhlathuze River during February 2001 to January 2002. The antibiotic resistance patterns (ARPs) of these identified isolates showed that 94.7 % were resistant to at least one class of antibiotic while 75.2% were multi-resistant. All isolates were sensitive to gentamicin. The levels of resistance exhibited by isolates to specific antibiotics are as follows: penicillin, 72.6%; rifampicin, 69.2%; novobiocin, 52.1%; ampicillin, 43.6% and cephalothin, 28.2 %. The antibiotic resistance gene pool especially that for β-lactamase is likely to be widely available in the environment. The ARPs for E. coli and non-E. coli groups were very similar. The enteric bacteria isolated from downstream, which is a mainly urban and industrial area, were more resistant to several antibiotics than those from upstream which is predominantly rural. The results suggest that environmental, industrial and/or human activities impact on the level of antibiotic resistance in the environment. The strong correlation (r=0.97) between the ARPs of the clinical and the environmental isolates may suggest a link between diarrhoeal incidence and the water quality in the region. It is thus imperative that the determination of antibiotic susceptibility/resistance patterns of isolated microbes is a part of the microbial monitoring process of the water.

Prevalence of Multiple Drug Resistant Escherichia coli Serotypes in a Tropical Estuary, India

“…Gomathinayagam et al 9) reported that E. coli showed predominant resistance to penicillin G, novobiocin and neomycin. Lin et al 18) observed a high resistance of enteric bacteria against novobiocin and ampicillin and also suggests that environmental, industrial and/or human activities impact on the level of antibiotic resistance in the environment.…”

Antibiotic susceptibility profile of Klebsiella pneumoniae strains isolated from drinking and surface water

“…По-стоје индиције да би резултати били дру-гачији ако би се испитивање поновило у не-ком другом периоду године, јер је састав површинских вода веома варијабилан и зави-си од бројних фактора као што су динамика испуштања отпадних вода, количина пада-вина, поплаве, температура и слично 5 . Само присуство K. pneumoniae у води отвара мо-гућност да ти сојеви стекну одређени ген ре-зистенције 7,[27][28][29][30][31] . Скаријачан и сарадници 7 су испитујући бактериолошку исправност реке Кавери у Индији утврдили да је 93,51% сојева мултирезистентно, а испитиване клебсијеле су показале резистенцију на чак 26 различитих антибиотика.…”

“…У Турској, у реци Сеихан, изолова-не клебсијеле су показале резистенцију на ампицилин, стрептомицин, цефазолин и ко-тримоксазол 28 . У реци Мхлатхузе у Јужно-афричкој Републици нађене су клебсијеле које су резистентне на 10 различитих антиби-отика 29 . Компарацију са студијама у нашој земљи није могуће направити услед не-достатка података о бактериолошком саставу antibiotics.…”

“…In Turkey, in the river Seihan, isolated strains showed resistance to ampicillin, streptomycin, cefazolin and cotrimoxazole 28 . In river Mhlathuze in South Africa, the detected strains were resistant to 10 different antibiotics 29 . Comparison with studies in our Осетљивост сојева Klebsiella pneumoniae изолованих из воде за пиће и површинских вода на aнtибиотике 11 површинских вода у доступној литератури.…”

“…The mere presence of K. pneumoniae in water creates opportunity for these strains to acquire a certain genes of resistance 7,[27][28][29][30][31] . Skariyachan and coworkers 7 examined bacteriological quality of the river Kaveri in India and found that 93.51% of strains were multiresistant and Klebsiella spp.…”