scholarly journals The occurrence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including Escherichia coli, in municipal wastewater and river water

2019 ◽  
Vol 100 ◽  
pp. 00061 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adriana Osińska ◽  
Ewa Korzeniewska ◽  
Monika Harnisz ◽  
Sebastian Niestępski ◽  
Piotr Jachimowicz
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
River Water ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
High Efficiency ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are major reservoirs of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) which are transported to the natural environment with discharged effluents. Samples of untreated wastewater (UWW) and treated wastewater (TWW) from four municipal WWTPs and samples of river water collected upstream (URW) and downstream (DRW) from the effluent discharge point were analyzed in the study. The total counts of bacteria resistant to β-lactams and tetracyclines and the counts of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli were determined. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including antibiotic-resistant E. coli, were removed with up to 99.9% efficiency in the evaluated WWTPs. Despite the above, ARB counts in TWW samples were high at up to 1.25x105 CFU/mL in winter and 1.25x103 CFU/mL in summer. Antibiotic-resistant bacteria were also abundant (up to 103 CFU/ml) in URW and DRW samples collected in winter and summer. In both UWW and TWW samples, the counts of ARB and antibiotic-resistant E. coli were at least one order of magnitude lower in summer than in winter. The study revealed that despite the high efficiency of bacterial removal in the wastewater treatment processes, considerable amounts of ARB are released into the environment with TWW and that the percentage of ARB in total bacterial counts increases after wastewater treatment.

scholarly journals Prevalence of Escherichia coli and Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria During Fresh Produce Production (Romaine Lettuce) Using Municipal Wastewater Effluents

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harvey N. Summerlin ◽  
Cícero C. Pola ◽  
Eric S. McLamore ◽  
Terry Gentry ◽  
Raghupathy Karthikeyan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Water Reuse ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Romaine Lettuce ◽  
Potential Health ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli

High demand for food and water encourages the exploration of new water reuse programs, including treated municipal wastewater usage. However, these sources could contain high contaminant levels posing risks to public health. The objective of this study was to grow and irrigate a leafy green (romaine lettuce) with treated wastewater from a municipal wastewater treatment plant to track Escherichia coli and antibiotic-resistant microorganisms through cultivation and post-harvest storage to assess their fate and prevalence. Contamination levels found in the foliage, leachate, and soil were directly (p < 0.05) related to E. coli concentrations in the irrigation water. Wastewater concentrations from 177 to 423 CFU ml−1 resulted in 15–25% retention in the foliage. Leachate and soil presented means of 231 and 116% retention, respectively. E. coli accumulation on the foliage was observed (p < 0.05) and increased by over 400% during 14-day storage (4°C). From randomly selected E. coli colonies, in all four biomass types, 81 and 34% showed resistance to ampicillin and cephalothin, respectively. Reclaimed wastewater usage for leafy greens cultivation could pose potential health risks, especially considering the bacteria found have a high probability of being antibiotic resistance. Successful reuse of wastewater in agriculture will depend on appropriate mitigation and management strategies to guarantee an inexpensive, efficient, and safe water supply.

scholarly journals Persulfate mediated solar photo-Fenton aiming at wastewater treatment plant effluent improvement at neutral PH: emerging contaminant removal, disinfection, and elimination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Clara V. M. Starling ◽  
Elizângela P. Costa ◽  
Felipe A. Souza ◽  
Elayne C. Machado ◽  
Juliana Calábria de Araujo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Effluent Quality ◽  
Neutral Ph ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent

AbstractThis work investigated an innovative alternative to improve municipal wastewater treatment plant effluent (MWWTP effluent) quality aiming at the removal of contaminants of emerging concern (caffeine, carbendazim, and losartan potassium), and antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), as well as disinfection (E. coli). Persulfate was used as an alternative oxidant in the solar photo-Fenton process (solar/Fe/S2O82−) due to its greater stability in the presence of matrix components. The efficiency of solar/Fe/S2O82− at neutral pH using intermittent iron additions is unprecedented in the literature. At first, solar/Fe/S2O82− was performed in a solar simulator (30 W m−2) leading to more than 60% removal of CECs, and the intermittent iron addition strategy was proved effective. Then, solar/Fe/S2O82− and solar/Fe/H2O2 were compared in semi-pilot scale in a raceway pond reactor (RPR) and a cost analysis was performed. Solar/Fe/S2O82− showed higher efficiencies of removal of target CECs (55%), E. coli (3 log units), and ARB (3 to 4 log units) within 1.9 kJ L−1 of accumulated irradiation compared to solar/Fe/H2O2 (CECs, 49%; E. coli, 2 log units; ARB, 1 to 3 log units in 2.5 kJ L−1). None of the treatments generated acute toxicity upon Allivibrio fischeri. Lower total cost was obtained using S2O82− (0.6 € m−3) compared to H2O2 (1.2 € m−3). Therefore, the iron intermittent addition aligned to the use of persulfate is suitable for MWWTP effluent quality improvement at neutral pH.

Possible impact of treated wastewater discharge on incidence of antibiotic resistant bacteria in river water

2001 ◽  
Vol 43 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-99 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Iwane ◽  
T. Urase ◽  
K. Yamamoto
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
River Water ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plant ◽  
Treatment Process ◽  
Treatment Plant ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Wastewater Discharge ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Process ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant

Escherichia coli and coliform group bacteria resistant to seven antibiotics were investigated in the Tama River, a typical urbanized river in Tokyo, Japan, and at a wastewater treatment plant located on the river. The percentages of antibiotic resistance in the wastewater effluent were, in most cases, higher than the percentages in the river water, which were observed increasing downstream. Since the possible increase in the percentages in the river was associated with treated wastewater discharges, it was concluded that the river, which is contaminated by treated wastewater with many kinds of pollutants, is also contaminated with antibiotic resistant coliform group bacteria and E.coli. The percentages of resistant bacteria in the wastewater treatment plant were mostly observed decreasing during the treatment process. It was also demonstrated that the percentages of resistance in raw sewage are significantly higher than those in the river water and that the wastewater treatment process investigated in this study works against most of resistant bacteria in sewage.

scholarly journals Removal of antibiotic resistant E. coli in two Norwegian wastewater treatment plants and by nano- and ultra-filtration processes

2017 ◽  
Vol 77 (4) ◽  
pp. 1115-1126 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten Ulrich Schwermer ◽  
Pawel Krzeminski ◽  
Aina Charlotte Wennberg ◽  
Christian Vogelsang ◽  
Wolfgang Uhl
Keyword(s):  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Membrane Filtration ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Wastewater Treatment Plants ◽  
Considerable Change ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Ultra Filtration

Abstract The effectivity of different treatment stages at two large wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) located in Oslo, Norway, to remove antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli from municipal wastewater was investigated. The WWTPs were effective in reducing the total cultivable E. coli. The E. coli in WWTP samples were mainly resistant to ampicillin (6–27%) and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole (5–24%), and, to a lesser extent, tetracycline (3–14%) and ciprofloxacin (0–7%). In the first WWTP, a clear decrease in the percentage of E. coli resistant to these antibiotics was found, with the main removal occurring during physical/chemical treatment. In the second WWTP, the percentage of cultivable resistant E. coli did not display a considerable change. During laboratory-scale membrane filtration of WWTP effluents using ultrafiltration (UF) and nanofiltration (NF) membranes, all E. coli, including those resistant to antibiotics, were removed completely. The results imply that UF and NF processes are potent measures to remove antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) during post-treatment of WWTP effluents, thus reducing the potential spread of antibiotic resistance in the receiving aquatic environment.

scholarly journals Evidence of Naturalized Stress-Tolerant Strains of Escherichia coli in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plants

2016 ◽  
Vol 82 (18) ◽  
pp. 5505-5518 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuai Zhi ◽  
Graham Banting ◽  
Qiaozhi Li ◽  
Thomas A. Edge ◽  
Edward Topp ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Escherichia Coli ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Intergenic Region ◽  
Municipal Wastewater ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Content Type ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Biomarker Pattern ◽  
Biomarker Analysis ◽  
Pcr Targeting

ABSTRACTEscherichia colihas been proposed to have two habitats—the intestines of mammals/birds and the nonhost environment. Our goal was to assess whether certain strains ofE. colihave evolved toward adaptation and survival in wastewater. Raw sewage samples from different treatment plants were subjected to chlorine stress, and ∼59% of the survivingE. colistrains were found to contain a genetic insertion element (IS30) located within theuspC-flhDCintergenic region. The positional location of the IS30element was not observed across a library of 845E. coliisolates collected from various animal hosts or within GenBank or whole-genome reference databases for human and animalE. coliisolates (n= 1,177). Phylogenetics clustered the IS30element-containing wastewaterE. coliisolates into a distinct clade, and biomarker analysis revealed that these wastewater isolates contained a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) biomarker pattern that was specific for wastewater. These isolates belonged to phylogroup A, possessed generalized stress response (RpoS) activity, and carried the locus of heat resistance, features likely relevant to nonhost environmental survival. Isolates were screened for 28 virulence genes but carried only thefimHmarker. Our data suggest that wastewater contains a naturalized resident population ofE. coli. We developed an endpoint PCR targeting the IS30element within theuspC-flhDCintergenic region, and all raw sewage samples (n= 21) were positive for this marker. Conversely, the prevalence of this marker inE. coli-positive surface and groundwater samples was low (≤5%). This simple PCR assay may represent a convenient microbial source-tracking tool for identification of water samples affected by municipal wastewater.IMPORTANCEThe results of this study demonstrate that some strains ofE. coliappear to have evolved to become naturalized populations in the wastewater environment and possess a number of stress-related genetic elements likely important for survival in this nonhost environment. The presence of non-host-adapted strains in wastewater challenges our understanding of usingE. colias a microbial indicator of wastewater treatment performance, suggesting that theE. colistrains present in human and animal feces may be very different from those found in treated wastewater.

scholarly journals Antibiotic resistant and extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing faecal coliforms in wastewater treatment plant effluent

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cian Smyth ◽  
Aidan O’Flaherty ◽  
Fiona Walsh ◽  
Thi Thuy Do
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Multi Drug Resistance ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Faecal Coliforms ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Extended Spectrum

AbstractWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provide optimal conditions for the maintenance and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this work we describe the occurrence of antibiotic resistant faecal coliforms and their mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in the effluent of two urban WWTPs in Ireland. Effluent samples were collected from two WWTPs in Spring and Autumn of 2015 and 2016. The bacterial susceptibility patterns to 13 antibiotics were determined. The phenotypic tests were carried out to identify AmpC or extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. The presence of ESBL genes were detected by PCR. Plasmids carrying ESBL genes were transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α recipient and underwent plasmid replicon typing to identify incompatibility groups. More than 90% of isolated faecal coliforms were resistant to amoxicillin and ampicillin, followed by tetracycline (up to 39.82%), ciprofloxacin (up to 31.42%) and trimethoprim (up to 37.61%). Faecal coliforms resistant to colistin and imipenem were detected in all effluent samples. Up to 53.98% of isolated faecal coliforms expressed a multi-drug resistance (MRD) phenotype. AmpC production was confirmed in 5.22% of isolates. The ESBL genes were confirmed for 11.84% of isolates (9.2% of isolates carried blaTEM, 1.4% blaSHV-12, 0.2% blaCTX-M-1 and 1% blaCTX-M-15). Plasmids extracted from 52 ESBL isolates were successfully transformed into recipient E. coli. The detected plasmid incompatibility groups included the IncF group, IncI1, IncHI1/2 and IncA/C. These results provide evidence that treated wastewater is polluted with ARB and MDR faecal coliforms and are sources of ESBL-producing, carbapenem and colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae.ImportanceAntibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) are an emerging environmental concern with a potential impact on human health. The results provide the evidence that treated wastewater is polluted with antibiotic resistant bacteria containing mobile resistance mechanisms of importance to clinical treatment of pathogens and multi-drug resistant (MDR) faecal coliforms. They are sources of relatively high proportions of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, and include carbapenem and colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The significance of this study is the identification of the role of WWTPs as a potential control point to reduce or stop the movement of ESBL, MDR and colistin resistant bacteria into the environment from further upstream sources, such as human or animal waste.

scholarly journals Antibiotic resistant and extended-spectrum β-lactamase producing faecal coliforms in wastewater treatment plant effluent

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cian Smyth ◽  
Aidan O’Flaherty ◽  
Fiona Walsh ◽  
Thi Thuy Do
Keyword(s):  
Antibiotic Resistance ◽  
Wastewater Treatment ◽  
Control Point ◽  
Treated Wastewater ◽  
Multi Drug Resistance ◽  
Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Faecal Coliforms ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria ◽  
Antibiotic Resistant ◽  
Extended Spectrum

AbstractWastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) provide optimal conditions for the maintenance and spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). In this work we describe the occurrence of antibiotic resistant faecal coliforms and their mechanisms of antibiotic resistance in the effluent of two urban WWTPs in Ireland. Effluent samples were collected from two WWTPs in Spring and Autumn of 2015 and 2016. The bacterial susceptibility patterns to 13 antibiotics were determined. The phenotypic tests were carried out to identify AmpC or extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producers. The presence of ESBL genes were detected by PCR. Plasmids carrying ESBL genes were transformed into Escherichia coli DH5α recipient and underwent plasmid replicon typing to identify incompatibility groups. More than 90% of isolated faecal coliforms were resistant to amoxicillin and ampicillin, followed by tetracycline (up to 39.82%), ciprofloxacin (up to 31.42%) and trimethoprim (up to 37.61%). Faecal coliforms resistant to colistin and imipenem were detected in all effluent samples. Up to 53.98% of isolated faecal coliforms expressed a multi-drug resistance (MRD) phenotype. AmpC production was confirmed in 5.22% of isolates. The ESBL genes were confirmed for 11.84% of isolates (9.2% of isolates carried blaTEM, 1.4% blaSHV-12, 0.2% blaCTX-M-1 and 1% blaCTX-M-15). Plasmids extracted from 52 ESBL isolates were successfully transformed into recipient E. coli. The detected plasmid incompatibility groups included the IncF group, IncI1, IncHI1/2 and IncA/C. These results provide evidence that treated wastewater is polluted with ARB and MDR faecal coliforms and are sources of ESBL-producing, carbapenem and colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae.ImportanceAntibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) are an emerging environmental concern with a potential impact on human health. The results provide the evidence that treated wastewater is polluted with antibiotic resistant bacteria containing mobile resistance mechanisms of importance to clinical treatment of pathogens and multi-drug resistant (MDR) faecal coliforms. They are sources of relatively high proportions of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae, and include carbapenem and colistin resistant Enterobacteriaceae. The significance of this study is the identification of the role of WWTPs as a potential control point to reduce or stop the movement of ESBL, MDR and colistin resistant bacteria into the environment from further upstream sources, such as human or animal waste.

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