Prevalence of antibiotic resistance in bacteria isolated from drinking well water available in Guinea-Bissau (West Africa)

• Type: Article in International Scientific Journal
• Date: 2014

Authors

Machado, A (Author) Other; Adriano Bordalo (Author) ICBAS

Journal

Title: Ecotoxicology and Environmental Safety

Vol. 106

Pages: 188-194

ISSN: 0147-6513

Publisher: Elsevier

Indexing

ISI Web of Knowledge - 0 Citations

Scopus - 2 Citations

Other information

Authenticus ID: P-009-DQ2

DOI: 10.1016/j.ecoenv.2014.04.037

Abstract (EN): The dissemination of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and the spread of antibiotic resistance genes are a major public health concern worldwide, being even proposed as emerging contaminants. The aquatic environment is a recognized reservoir of antibiotic resistant bacteria, and antibiotic resistance genes have been recently detected in drinking water. In this study, the water quality and the prevalence of antibiotic resistance of heterotrophic culturable bacteria were characterized seasonally in wells that serve the population of Guinea-Bissau (West Africa) as the sole source of water for drinking and other domestic proposes. The results revealed that well water was unfit for human consumption independently of the season, owing to high acidity and heavy fecal contamination. Moreover, potentially pathogenic bacteria, which showed resistance to the most prescribed antibiotics in Guinea-Bissau, were isolated from well water, posing an additional health risk. Our results suggest that well water not only fosters the transmission of potential pathogenic bacteria, but also represents an important reservoir for the proliferation of antibiotic resistant bacteria, that can aggravate the potential to cause disease in a very vulnerable population that has no other alternative but to consume such water.

Language: English

Type (Professor's evaluation): Scientific

No. of pages: 7