Antibiotic resistant bacteria used as bioindicators of environmental pollution produced by tertiary treated sewage effluent

Al-Bahry, Saif N.; Mahmoud, I.Y.; Al-Musharafi, S. K.

doi:10.2495/wp120271

Cited by 13 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 20 publications

(26 reference statements)

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“…Overuse of antibiotics has been reported to be the major factor for the emergence of antibiotic resistant bacteria affecting both human health and the environment [20]- [22]. Antibiotics have been used for treatment of human and animal diseases indiscriminately [23]- [25] and are also used as prophylactic in animal growth [23].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Staphylococcus aureus Contamination during Food Preparation, Processing and Handling

Al-Bahry¹,

Mahmoud²,

Al-Musharafi³

et al. 2014

IJCEA

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Abstract-Throughout the world, food processing and handling is a major problem leading to food poisoning and infection. A total of 480 samples was analyzed for Staphylococcus aureus contamination which resulted from food processing. Most of the isolates were taken from food-handlers using nasal swabs. The most contaminated food was chicken pastries, followed by egg sandwiches and spring rolls. Isolates from all samples produced virulence factors hemolysin, coagulase, DNase and enterotoxins. Five different enterotoxins (SEs) were isolated and identified from different samples. The detected SEs are SEA to SEE. Most the isolates secreted SEA followed by SEB. The strains were multiple-resistant to several antibiotics. Ampicillin and penicillin were the most resisted antibiotics. The value of this investigation is to generate awareness about the dangers of food processing and handling leading to infections by foodborne microbes which constitute a potential health risk for the consumers.Index Terms-Staphylococcus aureus, contamination, food products, food handlers. I. INTRODUCTIONFood processing is an important industry worldwide. One of the major problems threatening food industry is the contamination with foodborne microbes of human origin resulting from improper handling and processing. Microbial contamination reduces shelf life and food quality leading to food infection and poisoning outbreaks, some of which are life threatening. Continuous monitoring of food processing is essential to avoid potential health problems.Staphylococcus aureus is one of the major foodborne pathogens, frequently causing diseases globally as a result of food ingestion contaminated with staphylococcal toxin [1].S. aureus is characterized by its ability to produce enterotoxins [2], which are considered to be the main causative agents of staphylococcal food poisoning [1]. S. aureus are commonly found on the skin of mammals, birds and fomites [2]. Humans are considered to be the major source of staphylococcal food poisoning [3]. S. aureus is found in nasal passages, throat, hair and skin of carriers [2]. Food is usually contaminated from nasal secretions, sneezing, coughing and direct hand contact of infected carriers [4], [5].Three categories of S. aureus carriers have been Manuscript received November 9, 2013; revised February 21, 2014 recognized: persistent, intermittent (occasional) and never-carriers. Persistent carriers are infected with the same staphylococcal strain for months or even years. It was reported that 20% -35% are persistent carriers. In addition, intermittent carriers represent 40% -70%, while never-carriers are uninfected representing 10% -40% of the population [6], [7].S. aureus secretes several virulence factors and extracellular toxins of protein origin which contributes to the pathogenicity. It is the only species that produces beta hemolysin which lyse red blood cells at cold temperature [6].Unlike other foodborne illnesses, staphylococcal food poisoning occurs shortly after, 30 min to 8 hrs, food ingestion contamin...

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Staphylococcus aureus Contamination during Food Preparation, Processing and Handling

Al-Bahry¹,

Mahmoud²,

Al-Musharafi³

et al. 2014

IJCEA

Self Cite

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“…Untreated sewage is the most hazardous contaminant in the environment due to its large volume, its human waste component, and its ability to transmit waterborne diseases including viruses, bacterial pathogens and other organisms that are endemic in the community. In arid hot climate regions, or where there is a high dependence on underground potable water, the transmission of MARB is greatly increase as a result of crack septic tanks, cesspit and inadequate recycled sewage water [61,72]. Although untreated sewage can obviously be a source of antibiotic resistant bacteria in the environment, treated domestic wastewater can also be a source [59,72].…”

Section: Infiltration Of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Into Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Resistant bacteria spread to the environment by several different routes including treated and untreated sewage effluents, sludge and agricultural runoff [42,[58][59][60][61][62][63]. Pharmaceuticals can be dispersed by the same routes and also important for the emergence and spread of antibiotic resistance in the environment [64].…”

Section: Infiltration Of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Into Tmentioning

confidence: 99%

Antibiotic resistant bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic environments: A review

Al-Bahry¹,

Mahmoud

Paulson

et al. 2015

iajaa

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Antibiotic resistant bacteria have become increasingly widespread in the environment and their prevalence is a serious potential problem for human health. The rise and spread of this resistance is primarily due to the overuse of antibiotics in clinical therapeutics and as growth promoters for livestock. Overuse undermines the usefulness of antibiotics by giving a selective advantage to microbes that are resistant. The problem has been exacerbated by the emergence of bacteria that are resistant to multiple antibiotics and by the ability of these resistance determinants to spread between different bacteria via horizontal gene transfer. Such transfer can, for example, take place extensively in the digestive tract of domestic animals and aquatic environments, which can become reservoirs of multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria (MARB) and these sources contribute eventually to spread of antibiotic resistance to humans

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“…Also, it was reported the treated sewage effluents from the three sewage treatment plants (STP) contained multiple antibiotic resistant fecal coliform and Escherichia coli which contributed to soil contamination. Microbial counts increased significantly farther from the main TSE storage tank (Al-Bahry et al, 2012a). It was suggested that multiple antibiotic resistant bacteria from TSE can be used for biomonitoring environmental pollution (Al-Bahry et al, 2012b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is also a rapid increase in the use of recycled water due to water shortage. The recycling water is used in agriculture and public parks (Al-Bahry et al, 2012a;Al-Musharafi et al, 2012). The number of sewage treatment plants (STPs) is increasing significantly in Muscat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effect of Physical Factors on Fecal Coliform Viability Rate in Sewage Sludge

Al-Bahry

Mahmoud²,

Al-Musharafi³

2014

GEP

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Experiments were conducted on the survival rate of fecal coliform after spreading the sewage sludge for desiccation on sludge beds in an open field throughout the year. The ambient temperature, humidity, sunlight intensity and solar radiation were measured during the period of sludge desiccation. The maximum average temperature, sunlight intensity and solar radiation were recorded throughout the year. During May and August the minimum microbial counts were recorded after four weeks of sludge desiccation. Relative humidity did not have significant effect on survival rate. The minimum microbial counts were taken after four weeks of sludge drying. When the sludge was mixed with three different media, the maximum count of fecal coliform was presented when soil mixed with sludge and irrigated with treated sewage effluent (TSE). When soil mixed with sludge irrigated with well water, the number of fecal coliform count dropped significantly. The minimum count occurred when compost was used instead of sludge. This was a clear indication that the source of contamination was from sludge and was mostly contributed by the TSE irrigation. The use of dried sludge after four weeks of treatment had the lowest fecal coliform count and was safe to be used as fertilizer for farming. Oman is located in a semi-equatorial belt with arid environmental conditions which are ideal for elimination of microbial pathogens. Thus, sludge desiccation in such environmental conditions, specifically during the hot months of the year, is perfect for such practice.

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Antibiotic resistant bacteria used as bioindicators of environmental pollution produced by tertiary treated sewage effluent

Cited by 13 publications

References 20 publications

Staphylococcus aureus Contamination during Food Preparation, Processing and Handling

Staphylococcus aureus Contamination during Food Preparation, Processing and Handling

Antibiotic resistant bacteria in terrestrial and aquatic environments: A review

The Effect of Physical Factors on Fecal Coliform Viability Rate in Sewage Sludge

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