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ARS Home » Pacific West Area » Riverside, California » Agricultural Water Efficiency and Salinity Research Unit » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #353843
Research Project: Identifying, Quantifying and Tracking Microbial Contaminants, Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistance Genes in Order to Protect Food and Water Supplies

Location: Agricultural Water Efficiency and Salinity Research Unit

Title: Characterization of bacterial communities and their antibiotic resistance profiles in wastewaters obtained from pharmaceutical facilities in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria

Author
item OBAYIUWANA, AMARACHUKWU - Augustine University Ilara
item OGUNJOBI, ADENIYI - University Of Ibadan
item YANG, MIN - Chinese Academy Of Sciences
item Ibekwe, Abasiofiok - Mark

Submitted to: International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 6/27/2018
Publication Date: 6/29/2018
Citation: Obayiuwana, A., Ogunjobi, A., Yang, M., Ibekwe, A.M. 2018. Characterization of bacterial communities and their antibiotic resistance profiles in wastewaters obtained from pharmaceutical facilities in Lagos and Ogun States, Nigeria. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 15(7):1365. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071365.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15071365

Interpretive Summary: There is a critical and urgent need in developing countries to control the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria and antibiotic resistance genes from pharmaceutical wastewater to the environment. In this study, we investigated the abundance and diversity of antibiotic resistant bacteria obtained from wastewater samples collected from twelve pharmaceutical facilities in Lagos and Ogun States Southwestern Nigeria over a twenty-six months period using advance DNA methods. In the study area, most pharmaceutical industries produce varieties of antibiotics in a single production plant, and in most cases, they lack wastewater treatment before the effluents are released into the environment and other bodies of water. Our data show that pharmaceutical wastewater and wastewater treatment plants are potential hot spots for selection of antibiotic resistance and dissemination of genetic determinants of antibiotic resistance. The results of this research will be used by water quality managers, World Health Organization, researchers, international water management institute, EPA, and other local agencies that are involved in irrigation management in in many developing countries.

Technical Abstract: In Nigeria, pharmaceutical wastewaters are routinely disseminated in river waters; this could be associated with public health risk to humans and animals. In this study, we characterized antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and their antibiotic resistance profile as well as screening for sul1 and sul2 genes in pharmaceutical wastewater effluents. Bacterial composition of the wastewater sources was isolated on non-selective media and characterized by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of the 16S rRNA genes, with subsequent grouping using restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) and sequencing. The antibiotics sensitivity profiles were investigated using the standard disk diffusion plate method and the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) of selected antibiotics on the bacterial isolates. A total of 254 bacterial strains were isolated, and majority of the isolates were identified as Acinetobacter sp., Klebsiella pneumonia, Proteus mirabilis, Enterobacter sp. and Bacillus sp. A total of 218 (85.8%) of the bacterial isolates were multidrug resistant. High MICs values were observed for all antibiotics used in the study. The result showed that 31.7%, 21.7% and 43.3% of the bacterial isolates harbored sul1, sul2, and Intl1 genes, respectively. Pharmaceuticals wastewaters are potential reservoirs of ARBs which may harbor resistance genes with possible risk to public health.