Olufunmilayo Modupe Oluwakoya, Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh
The prevalence of multidrug-resistant Campylobacter species in wastewater effluents presents a formidable challenge at the intersection of environmental sustainability and public health. This study examined the presence of multidrug-resistant Campylobacter in wastewater effluents in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and its implications for environmental ecosystems and public health. Forty-five samples from household effluent (HHE) and wastewater treatment plant effluent (WWTPE) were collected at different geographical locations within the province between April and September 2022. The counts of the presumptive Campylobacter genus ranged from 5.2 × 103 to 6.03 × 104 CFU/mL for HHE and 4.93 × 103 to 1.04 × 104 CFU/mL for WWTPE. About 42.55% of the samples were positive for Campylobacter species. Five virulence determinants including the cadF and wlaN were detected in all the isolates; however, flgR (19.23%), ciaB, and ceuE (15.38%) were less prevalent. The antibiogram profiles of confirmed Campylobacter isolates revealed high resistance (>55%) against all tested antibiotics ranging from 55.77% (nalidixic acid) to 92.30% (erythromycin), and resistance against the other antibiotics followed the order ciprofloxacin (51.92%), azithromycin (50%), and levofloxacin (48.08%). On the contrary, gentamicin was sensitive against 61.54% of the isolates, followed by imipenem (57.69%) and streptomycin (51.92%). The WWTPE's antibiotic resistance index (ARI) was 0.19, lower than the permitted Krumperman threshold of 0.2; and HHE's ARIs were higher. The isolates' respective multiple antibiotic resistance indexes (MARI) varied between 0.08 and 1.00. Among the phenotypically resistant Campylobacter isolates examined, 21 resistance determinants encoding resistance against β-lactam, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, phenicol, quinolones, tetracyclines, and macrolides were detected, which explains the phenotypic resistance observed in the study. This study concludes that the wastewaters in the study areas are important reservoirs of multidrug-resistant and potentially pathogenic Campylobacter species, suggesting the need for proper treatment of the wastewaters to eliminate the organisms in the effluents before discharge the final effluent to the receiving watershed.
{"title":"Prevalence of multidrug-resistant Campylobacter species in wastewater effluents: A menace of environmental and public health concern","authors":"Olufunmilayo Modupe Oluwakoya, Anthony Ifeanyi Okoh","doi":"10.1111/hel.13095","DOIUrl":"10.1111/hel.13095","url":null,"abstract":"<p>The prevalence of multidrug-resistant <i>Campylobacter</i> species in wastewater effluents presents a formidable challenge at the intersection of environmental sustainability and public health. This study examined the presence of multidrug-resistant <i>Campylobacter</i> in wastewater effluents in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa, and its implications for environmental ecosystems and public health. Forty-five samples from household effluent (HHE) and wastewater treatment plant effluent (WWTPE) were collected at different geographical locations within the province between April and September 2022. The counts of the presumptive <i>Campylobacter</i> genus ranged from 5.2 × 10<sup>3</sup> to 6.03 × 10<sup>4</sup> CFU/mL for HHE and 4.93 × 10<sup>3</sup> to 1.04 × 10<sup>4</sup> CFU/mL for WWTPE. About 42.55% of the samples were positive for <i>Campylobacter</i> species. Five virulence determinants including the <i>cad</i>F and <i>wla</i>N were detected in all the isolates; however, <i>flg</i>R (19.23%), <i>cia</i>B, and <i>ceu</i>E (15.38%) were less prevalent. The antibiogram profiles of confirmed <i>Campylobacter</i> isolates revealed high resistance (>55%) against all tested antibiotics ranging from 55.77% (nalidixic acid) to 92.30% (erythromycin), and resistance against the other antibiotics followed the order ciprofloxacin (51.92%), azithromycin (50%), and levofloxacin (48.08%). On the contrary, gentamicin was sensitive against 61.54% of the isolates, followed by imipenem (57.69%) and streptomycin (51.92%). The WWTPE's antibiotic resistance index (ARI) was 0.19, lower than the permitted Krumperman threshold of 0.2; and HHE's ARIs were higher. The isolates' respective multiple antibiotic resistance indexes (MARI) varied between 0.08 and 1.00. Among the phenotypically resistant <i>Campylobacter</i> isolates examined, 21 resistance determinants encoding resistance against β-lactam, carbapenems, aminoglycosides, phenicol, quinolones, tetracyclines, and macrolides were detected, which explains the phenotypic resistance observed in the study. This study concludes that the wastewaters in the study areas are important reservoirs of multidrug-resistant and potentially pathogenic <i>Campylobacter</i> species, suggesting the need for proper treatment of the wastewaters to eliminate the organisms in the effluents before discharge the final effluent to the receiving watershed.</p>","PeriodicalId":13223,"journal":{"name":"Helicobacter","volume":"29 3","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":4.4,"publicationDate":"2024-05-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/hel.13095","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"141154612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}