Seasonal and Technological Shifts of the WHO Priority Multi-Resistant Pathogens in Municipal Wastewater Treatment Plant and Its Receiving Surface Water: A Case Study

Abstract

The present study was focused on the identification of multi-resistant bacteria from the WHO priority pathogens list in the samples taken from different stages of the full-scale municipal wastewater treatment plant and receiving water. Additionally, the seasonal variations of the selected multi-resistant pathogens were analyzed in the samples. In order to the aim of the study, the metagenomic DNA from the collected samples was isolated and sequenced. The samples were collected in three campaigns (spring, summer, autumn). Metagenomic DNA was isolated by the commercial kits, according to the manufacturer’s instruction. Illumina sequencing system was employed, and the R program was used to metagenomic analysis. It was found that the wastewater samples and receiving water contained the multi-resistant bacteria from the WHO priority pathogens list. The seasonal and technological variations affected the distribution of the pathogens in the wastewater. No effect of the effluent on the pathogens in the receiving water was observed. The results indicated that antibiotic-resistant “priority pathogens” from the WHO list are there in the waste- and receiving water. Technological process and seasons effected their distribution in the environment. Metagenomic analysis can be used as sufficient tool in microbiological and human health risk assessment.

Genetic diversity of pathogenic bacteria and incidence of selected antibiotic resistant genes in water used by peri-urban eateries in Kenya.

“…Currently, the microbial indicators for surface water contamination used are: total coliforms, enterococci , fecal streptococci ,Escherichia coli , and Clostridium perfringens (Ja lowiecki et al, 2022). These bacterial indicators have been widely used in monitoring microbiological water quality.…”

“…The occurrence of these pathogens in the environment have escalated the mortality rate associated with microbial infections particularly those caused by multi-drug resistant species, such as: Escherichia coli, Acinetobacter spp, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus , and Enterococcus spp (Asokan et al, 2019). The species of Acinetobacter baumannii, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa harbor antibiotic resistant genes against: penicillins, cephalosporins, carbapenems, monobactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides, tetracyclines, and polymyxins (Ja lowiecki et al, 2022).…”

Pseudomonas aeruginosa and related antibiotic resistance genes as indicators for wastewater treatment

“…1 ). Antibiotic resistance has escalated to a critical global health issue in the twenty-first century, leading to a decline in the efficacy of antibiotics for treating infections, as recognized by the World Health Organization [ 33 ].

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Antibacterial Activity of Eight Medicinal Plants from the Traditional Pharmacopoeia of Niger

“…For this reason, the WHO recommends the use of azithromycin and antibiotics from the fluoroquinolone family, particularly ciprofloxacin, as the first line of therapy [ 5 ]. Unfortunately, the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains and the failure of this treatment led the WHO to include these bacteria on the list of 12 priority bacteria for which the search for new drugs is urgently needed [ 6 ]. Regarding the history of traditional medicine, interest in herbal medicines continues to increase.…”