Assessment of Microbiological Content of Private and Public Recreational Water Facilities and Their Antimicrobial Susceptibility Pattern in Al-Ahsa

BACKGROUND: Water recreational facilities like swimming pools attract people of all ages. However, these facilities are very suitable for the transmission of various microbial diseases and have been shown to pose public health concerns. AIMS: This study assesses the presence of different Gram-negative bacteria pathogens and their antimicrobial susceptibility pattern in both private and public pools in Al-Ahsa. METHODS: 11 private and 3 public recreational water facilities were sampled for the study. Collected water samples were inoculated into nutrient broth and incubated aerobically for 24 hours. The overnight growth was plated out on blood and MacConkey agars. Pure cultures of the bacteria samples were used for identification and antimicrobial susceptibility test using the Vitek 2 compactautomated system (BioMerieux, Marcy L’Etoile, France). Minimum inhibitory concentration was also provided by the Vitek 2 compact automated system. RESULTS: 13 different Gram-negative bacteria species isolates were encountered in both pool types sampled. More of potential pathogens were isolated from the private than the public pools, of which Klebsiella pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa constituted 50% and 43%, respectively, of all the isolates. Findings also revealed a varied minimum inhibitory concentrations (MICs) indicating that the isolates were of different strains. Antibiotic susceptibility pattern also showed variability among the isolates. CONCLUSIONS: This study has revealed a potential health risk associated with the use of water recreational facilities. The presence of K pneumoniae and P aeruginosa suggests a public health concern and should be looked into.