Lethality of resistant/virulent environmental vibrio cholerae in wastewater release: An evidence of emerging virulent/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria contaminants of public health concern

Bright E. Igere; Anthony I. Okoh; Uchechukwu U. Nwodo

Environmental Challenges (Apr 2022)

Lethality of resistant/virulent environmental vibrio cholerae in wastewater release: An evidence of emerging virulent/antibiotic-resistant-bacteria contaminants of public health concern

Bright E. Igere,
Anthony I. Okoh,
Uchechukwu U. Nwodo

Affiliations

Bright E. Igere: SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa.; Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa; Corresponding author.
Anthony I. Okoh: SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa.; Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa; Department of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Health Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates
Uchechukwu U. Nwodo: SAMRC Microbial Water Quality Monitoring Centre, University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa.; Applied and Environmental Microbiology Research Group, Department of Biochemistry and Microbiology,University of Fort Hare, Alice 5700, South Africa

Journal volume & issue: Vol. 7
p. 100504

Abstract

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Water a vital resource of life has been faced with concerns of usage safety. As a strategy toward alleviating user safe-water-for-all (SWA) concern amongst safe water deprived populations, a cross-sectional analysis of various water sources were determined. These include sampling of wastewater treatment plants final effluents (WWTPFE), receiving water shed and domestic water, determination of physicochemical parameters (PPA), vibrio-colonial density (VCD), virulent/antibiotic resistant gene (V/ARG) detection and genotypic characterisation of Vibrio cholerae. Various PPA were reported to be higher above expected regulatory standard in the receiving water shed. The presumptive Vibrio counts of samples ranged between 1.10 - 7.91 log10 CFU/ml. PCR confirmed V. cholerae isolates were 61/8.04% in addition to diverse V/ARGs in various sites. The mean VCD ranges from 0.00±0.00 to 244.61±44.86 CFU/100 ml with lethality characteristic index (LCI) revealing high contamination, while detected virulent/resistant dynamics spans across gastro-enteric/sporadic, extended spectrum betalactamase (ESβL), New Delhi metalobatalactamase (NDM-β-1) and epidemic genes. Statistical significance was observed in VCD and PPA of sampled water plants at p<0.01 and p<0.05 with multifaceted V/ARGs contaminants. Such reports indicate potential lethal implications of studied/sampled water sheds. It also depicts emerging microbial contaminants, antibiotic resistant gene contaminants, accumulation of other chemical contaminants, acquisition of diverse virulent genes (VGs) determinants and public/environmental health associated concerns. Appropriateness in wastewater effluent release regulatory policy and application of advanced/alternative microbial/ ARG/VGs/chemical contaminants removal during wastewater treatment processes are suggestive.

Published in Environmental Challenges

ISSN: 2667-0100 (Online)
Publisher: Elsevier
Country of publisher: Netherlands
LCC subjects: Geography. Anthropology. Recreation: Environmental sciences
Website: https://www.journals.elsevier.com/environmental-challenges/

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