Multiresistant opportunistic pathogenic bacteria isolated from polluted rivers and first detection of nontuberculous mycobacteria in the Algerian aquatic environment

Abstract

Opportunistic infections constitute a major challenge for modern medicine mainly because the involved bacteria are usually multiresistant to antibiotics. Most of these bacteria possess remarkable ability to adapt to various ecosystems, including those exposed to anthropogenic activities. This study isolated and identified 21 multiresistant opportunistic bacteria from two polluted rivers, located in Algiers. Cadmium, lead, and copper concentrations were determined for both water samples to evaluate heavy metal pollution. High prevalence of Enterobacteria and non-fermentative Gram-negative rods was found and a nontuberculous Mycobacterium (NTM) strain was isolated. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first detection of NTM in the Algerian environment. The strains were tested for their resistance against 34 antibiotics and 8 heavy metals. Multiple antibiotics and heavy metals resistance was observed in all isolates. The two most resistant strains, identified as Acinetobacter sp. and Citrobacter freundii, were submitted to plasmid curing to determine if resistance genes were plasmid or chromosome encoded. Citrobacter freundii strain P18 showed a high molecular weight plasmid which seems to code for resistance to zinc, lead, and tetracycline, at the same time. These findings strongly suggest that anthropized environments constitute a reservoir for multiresistant opportunistic bacteria and for circulating resistance genes.

Physicochemical and Microbiological Water Quality Assessment of a Northwestern Algerian Dam: Detection of Ichtyopathogenic Bacteria

“…Nevertheless, 5% of the naturally sensitive strains were found to be resistant to colistin in this study. These results are similar to those of ( Djouadi et al 2017 ). No resistance to neomycin was noted.…”

“…Besides, the qualitative study allowed us to isolate and identify 62 morphologically distinct isolates. The latter are affiliated to 24 genera and 33 species, of which two thirds are Gram-negative, as previously found in other Algerian aquatic environments ( Table I ) ( Djouadi et al 2017 ).…”

Antimicrobial Resistance of Heterotrophic Bacteria and Enterobacteriaceae Inhabiting an Anthropogenic-Affected River Stretch in Bulgaria

“…A broad range of ampicillin resistance has been detected in a survey of sixteen US rivers, with considerable differences in the number of ampicillinresistant bacteria registered in the river bodies: in half of the sampling points, the resistant fraction was in the range of 10 to 30%, but there were those in which it was lower than 10% or higher than 50% [28]. A high level of beta-lactam resistance, including to thirdgeneration cephalosporin, has been observed among opportunistic pathogens isolated from heavy-metal-polluted rivers, co-selected with multiple resistance to copper, lead and cadmium [30].…”