Beta-Lactam Susceptibility Profiles of Bacteria Isolated from the Ozama River in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Abstract

The spread and contamination of antimicrobial-resistant bacteria in ambient waters is an emerging concern in urban, rural, medical, and industrial settings. A large amount of domestic, hospital, and industrial wastewater discharged directly into the rivers through the different channels can turn them into extensive reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In the present study, surface water samples from three collection sites were analyzed, according to different levels of anthropogenic impacts, along the Ozama River, one of the most important rivers in the Dominican metropolitan area, a source of water and food for human consumption. Seventy-six bacterial isolates were selected based on resistance to beta-lactams, using culture media previously enriched with cefotaxime and imipenem. Matrix-Assisted Laser Desorption/Ionization Time of Flight Mass Spectrometry (MALDI-TOF) subsequently identified them. The isolates covered 12 genera of bacteria; more than 30% were clinically relevant, and 43% had phenotypes classified as multidrug resistance. A total of 10 (44%) presented resistance. However, only seven presented resistance to 3 or more of the 14 groups of antibiotics, considered to be a multiresistant phenotype, which was sequenced using the high-throughput sequencing technique or New Generation (NGS). This study is part of the initiative to understand the profiles of the dangers of multidrug resistance in the metropolitan and rural areas of the Dominican Republic and its possible implications for human health.

Sensores de calidad de agua para el control de la contaminación fisicoquímica en los acuíferos de Latinoamérica: una revisión

“…El trabajo publicado por Bonnelly et al (2023) presenta una investigación sobre la susceptibilidad de las bacterias encontradas en las aguas del río Ozama en Santo Domingo, República Dominicana, hacia los antibióticos betalactámicos. Los resultados del estudio revelaron la presencia de múltiples bacterias resistentes a estos antibióticos, lo que plantea una potencial amenaza para la salud pública y el medio ambiente.…”

Comparison of Two Bacterial Characterization Techniques for the Genomic Analysis of River Microbiomes

“…In addition, this identification method has great potential in water samples analysis due to the capacity to process greater amounts of samples at lower cost and time, a major advantage when characterizing a microbiome [5]. For this reason, in the last decade a number of studies regarding surface water in rivers have been published [6,7].…”

“…The objective is to determine how close the accuracy of mass spectrometry is to the accuracy of a high-precision and high-cost method in DNA sequencing, as the funds devoted to research in the Dominican Republic are rather limited. Studying environmental bacterial profiles is crucial for public health, as many pathogenic bacteria have been identified in its rivers [6].…”