Contaminant Properties of Hospital Clinical Laboratory Wastewater: A Physiochemical and Microbiological Assessment

Abstract

Hospital laboratory wastewater has been considered to significantly change the degree of contamination of especially the hospital wastewater. The present study investigated the hospital clinical laboratory wastewater and the pollution loads were assessed for pathogens, heavy metals, and organic materials. Composite samples were collected from clinical laboratory wastewater of a 350-bed hospital for a six-month period. Analyses for pH, TSS (Total Suspended Solid), BOD (Biochemical Oxygen Demand), COD (Chemical Oxygen Demand), PO4-P, and Cl as well as heavy metals (Cd, Pb, Zn, Cu, Cr, Co, Ni, Al, and Mn) were made in order to physiochemical properties of the samples. Bacterial isolation (Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Acinetobaumanii, CNS-CoagulaseNegative Staphylococcus) and antigen-antibody analyses were conducted in order to find the microbiological pollution load of the wastewater. As a result of the study it was found that the hospital clinical laboratory wastewater was alkaline and COD/BOD ratio reached to a range of 10 -12 in the wastewater. It was concluded that although the heavy metal concentrations were within the sewage discharge limits the said levels could pose health risk. It was also found that the wastewater entailed health risk due to pathogens.

Antibiogram profile and virulence signatures of Pseudomonas aeruginosa isolates recovered from selected agrestic hospital effluents

“…The effluent from hospitals is directly discharged into the municipal sewer system co-treated with urban wastewater. HWW poses a grave risk to humans as it radically disseminates infectious pathogens found in healthcare wards to the environment 18 . The dissemination of antibiotic non-susceptible bacteria, their reservoirs and distribution in the environment are very pertinent issues.…”

<p>High Burden of Antibiotic-Resistant Bacteria from Wastewater in Ethiopia: A Systematic Review</p>

“… 10 , 11 , 16 The number of coliforms released from hospital mostly depends on the number of patients served, hospital capacity, and the type of case-managed. 23 During the diagnosis and treatment of disease, the hospital releases large amounts of pathogenic bacteria. 23 At the same time hospital could be a storm house of ARB due to the large use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections.…”

“…23 During the diagnosis and treatment of disease, the hospital releases large amounts of pathogenic bacteria. 23 At the same time hospital could be a storm house of ARB due to the large use of antibiotics to treat bacterial infections. 24 Almost all studies showed the presence of pathogenic bacterial isolates such as klebsiella spp., E. coli, P. aeruginosa, S. aureus, and Salmonella spp.…”

High level of drug resistance by gram-negative bacteria from selected sewage polluted urban rivers in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

“…The majority of antibiotics used in human and animal healthcare is partially metabolized and released through excreta into the municipal sewage system. Untreated liquid waste containing partially metabolized antibiotics in low concentration contributes largely to the development of antibiotic resistance in the environmental microflora [ 2 – 5 ]. If hospitals and municipal sewage effluents are not treated, infectious agents and antibiotic-resistant microbes are shed into rivers and finally reach into communities.…”