Investigation of the Bacterial Contamination and Antibiotic Susceptibility Profile of Bacteria Isolated from Bottled Drinking Water

The purpose of this study was to assess the bacteriological quality in some domestic bottled waters marketed in Al Anbar Province of Iraq. In total, 120 samples were collected from 20 different domestic bottled water companies. The current study findings demonstrated that the positive total bacterial count for aerobic bacteria was 20 CFU/ml (16.6%) out of 120 samples. From 120 tested samples, coliform bacteria had a much lower count of 13 CFU/ml (10.8%). The bacteriological analysis tests of this study showed that the brand bottled water of Alhilwa had the highest mean of total bacterial count at 485 CFU/ml, followed by Alwafi and Araco, which found at mean of 283 and 196 CFU/ml, respectively. The other brands of bottled waters included Sawa and Izmir, which had given lower mean of bacterial count at 87 and 58 CFU/ml, respectively, while all other tested brands of bottled waters had zero content of total bacterial count. According to the biomedical tests and Vitek2 system employed for this study, the isolated bacterial species as contaminants in bottled waters were Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. The results of this study showed that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was sensitive to all tested antibiotics, but the Escherichia coli was resistance to amoxicillin, azithromycin, ceftazidime, and cefixime. The Klebsiella pneumonia demonstrated sensitivity to all tested antibiotics except the cefixime. Therefore, antibiotics belonging to the types of penicillin, carbapenem, and quinolones can be considered the best medicine for treating infections caused by the bacteria diagnosed in this study. In conclusion, the findings of this study showed that some domestic bottled waters sold in markets and shops in Al Anbar Province have bacteriological contents that are within permitted ranges for Iraqi and WHO standards. IMPORTANCE Researchers analyzed how lifestyle factors affect the overall health of people with bacterial infections from the water. The article describes significance of the research because many people do not have access to clean, safe drinking water where this water is essential to life, and many die of waterborne bacterial infections. So, the purpose of the article is to draw attention to the major factors of the most dangerous bacteria transmitted through water marketed in Al Anbar Province of Iraq: Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Furthermore, our specific significant contribution has been to show the most important treatments for treating infections caused by the bacteria diagnosed in this study.