Emerging human pathogen Acinetobacter baumannii in the natural aquatic environment: a public health risk?

Abstract

Bacterium Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging human pathogen whose presence in the aquatic environment raises the issue of public health risk. Fish colonization represents the potential route of pathogen transmission to humans. The aim was to examine the colonization of A. baumannii to freshwater fish Poecilia reticulata. An extensively drug-resistant A. baumannii was tested at three concentrations in natural spring water. Additionally, 70 fish from the Sava River (Croatia) were screened for the presence of A. baumannii, which was not found in gill swabs or analysed gut. The colonization potential of A. baumannii in freshwater fish is dependent upon its concentration in surrounding water. The low concentration of A. baumannii in natural waters represents low colonization potential of freshwater fish. The risk for public health exists in closed water bodies where there is constant inflow of water polluted by A. baumannii in concentrations above 3 log CFU mL.

An Ohio State Scenic River Shows Elevated Antibiotic Resistance Genes, Including Acinetobacter Tetracycline and Macrolide Resistance, Downstream of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent

“…Nevertheless, the possibility of A. baumannii contamination should be followed up by further studies. Acinetobacter species of concern are emerging worldwide, especially in warmer climates, and their prevalence likely will increase with climate change ( 50 – 52 ). River levels of Acinetobacter species can be examined by targeted metagenomic analysis ( 53 ), amplicon assessment ( 54 ), and culture-based methods ( 55 ).…”

An Ohio State Scenic River Shows Elevated Antibiotic Resistance Genes, IncludingAcinetobacterTetracycline and Macrolide Resistance, Downstream of Wastewater Treatment Plant Effluent

“…Nevertheless, the possibility of A. baumanii contamination should be followed up by further studies. Acinetobacter species of concern are emerging worldwide, especially in warmer climates; and their prevalence likely will increase with climate change (52)(53)(54). River levels of Acinetobacter species can be examined by targeted metagenomic analysis (55), amplicon assessment (56) and culture-based methods (57).…”

Investigative Study on the Bacteriological, Physical and Chemical Profiles of Aquaculture Waters: Insights Into Health Hazards for Fish and Human

“…For instance, in Ecuador, loss due to WSSV outbreaks was around 63,000mt valued at US$280.5million, and it was estimated that up to 23,000people had been laid off (Alday de Graindorge & Griffith, 2001). In addition to this concern, aquatic environments have been implicated to represent reservoirs of pathogenic organisms which may pose risks to human health (Islam et al, 1993;Dekić et al, 2018). A good indication of presence of pathogenic bacteria are common attributes to faecal coliform bacteria, for example, the Escherichia coli and enterococci (Tyagi et al, 2006).…”

“…Moreover, since pathogenic colonisation of aquatic organisms can depend on concentration of pathogens (Dekić et al, 2018), of particular concern is the aquaculture practicing zero-water exchange. In which present pathogenic challenge may increase to the level capable of overwhelming the stock defense system (Arias-Moscoso et al, 2018) thereby leading to the establishment of pathogens.…”