Prevalence of Bacteria and Antimicrobial Resistance Genes in Hospital Water and Surfaces

Purpose Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) has become a worldwide environmental and public health problem, causing more than 250,000 deaths per year. Unregulated usage, unsafe hospital practices, and misuse in veterinary contribute to the development of multidrug resistance in various bacteria. Hospital water was hypothesized to be a hotspot for AMR transmission because of (1) increased exposure to antibiotic load, (2) poor drainage and sanitation system, (3) interaction between environmental and clinical microbes. The purpose of the research was to assess the biodiversity and AMR in hospital tap waters. Methodology In this study, the microflora of the hospital tap water and hospital surfaces was observed by obtaining water samples from the intensive care unit (ICU), surgical wards, and washrooms. These were processed through membrane filtration and spread on seven different media (Aeromonas Medium, Azide Dextrose Agar, MacConkey Agar, Mannitol Salt Agar, Pseudomonas Cetrimide Agar, Salmonella Shigella Agar, and Thiosulfate Citrate Bile Salts Sucrose Agar). Surface samples were collected from the faucet, basin, and drain and directly spread on the media plates. Isolates were identified using standard bacteriological and biochemical tests. Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method was performed using 21 antibiotic disks from 10 different antibiotic classes. They included ampicillin (AMP), amoxicillin (AML), piperacillin-tazobactam (TZP), cefipime (FEP), cefoxitin (FOX), ceftazidime (CAZ), ceftriaxone (CRO), imipenem (IMP), meropenem (MEM), ciprofloxacin (CIP), moxifloxacin (MXF), levofloxacin (LEV), amikacin (AK), gentamicin (CN), tigecycline (TGC), aztreonam (ATM), erythromycin (E), clindamycin (DA), rifampicin (RD), colistin (CT), and chloramphenicol (C). The results were interpreted according to EUCAST guidelines for the antibiogram of the isolates; 38 isolates were selected out of 162 based on different parameters for genotyping and detection of six beta-lactamase genes (blaSHV, blaTEM, blaCTX-M, blaOXA, blaKPC, blaNDM). Results Among these 162 isolates, 82 were obtained from water sources and 80 were collected from surfaces (faucet, basin, drain). The isolates included a variety of bacteria including Aeromonas spp. (20%), Klebsiella spp. (13%), Staphylococcus aureus (13%), Pseudomonas spp.(10%), Escherichia coli (9%), Vibrio spp. (8%), Enterococcus spp. (6%), Shigella spp. (6%), Salmonella spp. (4%), Acinetobacter spp. (3%), Staphylococcus epidermitis (3%), Streptococci spp. (2%), Proteus spp. (1%), Citrobacter spp. (1%), and Serratia spp. (1%). A diverse range of microbes were identified including clinically relevant bacteria, which shows that the urban water cycle is already contaminated with multidrug-resistant microflora of the hospital settings. Macrolide and lincosamide showed the highest resistance followed by penicillin, monobactam, and cephalosporins. blaSHV and blaTEM were prevalent in samples. blaNDM was also found which manifests as a real threat since it causes resistance against carbapenems and colistin, antibiotics reserved as a last resort against infections. Conclusions This study presented the ground reality of antibiotic resistance in Pakistan and how its subsequent spread poses a great threat to the strides made in the field of medicine and public health. Strict regulations regarding antibiotic usage, hospital effluent, and urban water sanitation must be imposed to curb the devastating effects of this increasing phenomenon.