Prevalence and Antibiogram Patterns of Pseudomonas aeruginosa Isolated from Two Wastewater Treatment Plants in Aden Governorate-Yemen

Abstract

Introduction: Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a gram-negative rod-shaped obligatorily aerobic bacterium. This bacterium is most frequently associated with human infections and is regarded as an opportunistic pathogen, primarily causing nosocomial infections in immunocompromised patients. P. aeruginosa as a waterborne pathogen is a growing concern to public health sectors. Many sources of environmental water as well as in other sources such as sewage treatment plants could potentially be acting as a reservoir for potentially pathogenic strains of P. aeruginosa. Therefore, the aim of this study was to determine the prevalence, antibiogram pattern and the multiple antibiotics resistant (MAR) of P. aeruginosa. Methods: The study was designed as a cross-sectional study, conducted between September 2022 and February 2023. A total of 193 wastewater samples, (97/193) & (96/193) were obtained from two region AL-Magari and Kaputa wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs), respectively. The wastewater samples were serially diluted and cultured on enrichment medium, then cultured on cetrimide agar as a selective medium for P. aeruginosa. The isolates were identified primarily based on cultural characteristics and then by biochemical tests. A panel of 32 antibiotics were used to determine the susceptibility patterns and the MAR. Results: The prevalence of P. aeruginosa was 33.7 % (65/193), while the statistical data revealed no a statistically significant difference between the prevalence of P. aeruginosa isolates from AL-Magari and Kaputa (P˃0.05). The study revealed the presence of antipseudomonal agents among the wastewater isolates of P. aeruginosa. Ciprofloxacin antibiotic has the highest activity against P. aeruginosa strains with the lowest resistant rate (7.7%), followed by Levofloxacin, Ofloxacin and Piperacillin/Tazobactam, (12.3%), (18.5%), and (20%), respectively. The MAR index ranged between 0.562 to 1. Conclusion: The study demonstrated that MAR P. aeruginosa were quite prevalent in the wastewater effluents of WWTPs in Aden governorate-Yemen with no statistically significant difference in resistant pattern between wastewater isolates from AL-Magari and Kaputa region to the antibiotics used in this study (P˃0.05); and this can lead to serious health risk for community, and natural vegetation where plants grow.