Isolation of multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli from hospital wastewater and adjacent community water samples in Dhaka city, Bangladesh

Abstract

"Background: The emergence and spread of multi-drug resistant Escherichia coli (MDR E. coli) is a growing public health concern worldwide, including developing countries such as Bangladesh. Hospital wastewater and community water sources are potential reservoirs for MDR E. coli due to the discharge of antibiotics and other pollutants from healthcare facilities and urban areas. Therefore, there is an urgent need for effective surveillance systems, wastewater treatment, and infection control measures to prevent the spread of MDR E. coli in hospital wastewater and adjacent community water sources in Dhaka City. The aim of this study is to identify MDR E. coli in hospital wastewater and adjacent community water sources in Dhaka City. Materials and method: From November 2022 to January 2023 a total of 18 water samples were collected (4 Hospital wastewater and 14 adjacent community water). To isolate E. coli those samples were cultured on a differential Hi-chrome chromogenic KPC agar medium and were selected based on colony morphology. For further identification conventional polymerase chain reaction (PCR) were performed using Eco-16s rRNA primer. Findings: From 18 samples, 4 samples were positive with E. coli. Total 11 E. coli isolates (9 isolates from hospital wastewater and 2 isolates from community water) were selected after performing PCR. Furthermore, all confirmed isolates were characterized by Antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST). Hospital wastewater isolates showed 88.8% resistance to Ampicillin, 66.6% resistance to Tetracycline, 55.5% resistance to Cefixime and Ceftriaxone. On the other hand, community water isolates showed 100% resistance to Ampicillin, 50% resistance to Piperacillin, Imipenem , Aztreonam, Tetracycline and Amoxyclav. From these 11 isolates, 9 were MDR. Conclusion: This study implies that it is crucial to monitor antibiotic resistance of Escherichia coli. The number or percentage will assist in implementing better control of the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in hospital and community water sources.

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