Bacteriological study of hospital waste water: microbial isolation, identification, and analysis of the antimicrobial resistance pattern

Abstract

Antimicrobials are used to prevent and treat bacterial infections, which are often released into the watery environment via wastewater from the hospital without being metabolized properly. This untreated water often becomes a breeding ground for bacteria, some of which can resist several antibiotics because of the high use of such drugs in hospitals. Thus, the primary target of our study was to isolate the microbes, identify and determine the antimicrobial activity in Dhaka. In total, 12 hospital wastewater samples were collected from 4 different tertiary hospital drainage systems. The hospitals are National Institute of Diseases of the Chest and Hospital (NIDCH), National Institute of Cancer Research and Hospital (NICRH), Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) or Post Graduate (P.G Hospital) and National Institute of Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT Hospital). After sample collection, culture techniques were employed to isolate and identify the microorganisms present and do the antimicrobial susceptibility test to find out the drug resistant. In this study, mostly Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae), Escherichia coli (E. coli), Staphylococcus aureus (S. aures), Acinetobacter baumannii (A. baumanni), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (P. aeruginosa), Vibrio spp., Shigella spp. and Salmonella spp., Klebsiella pneumoniae is 87.88% resistant to Imipenem and 18% to Gentamicin and Ciprofloxacin. In the case of E. coli, Cefixime is 100% resistant and Amikacin is 41.17%. S. aureus is 10% resistant to Azithromycin and 33.33% resistant for Shigella spp. For P. aeruginosa, Imipenem is 37.5% resistant and 40% for A. baumannii. A. baumannii is 10% resistant to Tetracycline. Hospital wastewater is fully covered with different types of antibiotic-resistant bacteria such as S. aureus, K. pneumoniae, non-typhoidal Salmonella spp. and E. coli, which is a great threat to public health globally. Untreated hospital drainage effluents and frequent consumption of antimicrobial supplements without proper prescription of individuals play a vital role in developing antimicrobial resistance. In every healthcare sector, wastewater needs to be treated properly, reduce malpractice of using antibiotics and raise public awareness to resolve AMR issue globally.