Antimicrobial-resistant enterobacteria in surface waters with fecal contamination from urban and rural communities

• Published in: Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical
• Main Authors: Vanessa Tibolla Moretto, Soraia Machado Cordeiro, Patricia Salcedo Bartley, Luciano Kalabric Silva, Rafael Ponce-Terashima, Mitermayer Galvão Reis, Ronald Edward Blanton, Lúcio Macedo Barbosa
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical (SBMT) 2021
• Subjects: Fecal contamination; Surface water; Enterobacteria; Antimicrobial resistance; ESBL-producing; Carbapenemase-producing; Arctic medicine. Tropical medicine; RC955-962; Arctic
• Online Access: https://doi.org/10.1590/0037-8682-0724-2020; https://doaj.org/article/a332893e53264ee38861184e89432e0b

Abstract INTRODUCTION: Inadequate wastewater treatment and fecal contamination have a strong environmental impact on antimicrobial resistance (AMR). This study evaluated the profile of AMR enterobacteria and fecal contamination from four surface waters: Jiquiriça-Brejões River and Cabrito, Tororó, and Abaeté Lagoons. METHODS: We analyzed AMR β-lactamase genes using the polymerase chain reaction method and fecal contamination using Coliscan®. RESULTS: We found high levels of fecal contamination, β-lactamase producers, and AMR genes (blaOXA-48, blaSPM, and blaVIM) in all waterbodies. CONCLUSIONS: Poor sanitation evidenced by fecal contamination and human activities around these surface waters contributed to the distribution and increase in AMR enterobacteria.