Revista de terapia y enfermedades infecciosas

Abstracto

Tracking down multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii isolates from hospital to the aquatic environment via the wastewater network

Corneliu Ovidiu Vrancianu

Hospital sewages and wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are hotspots for development and dissemination of antibiotic resistance. We have characterized multidrug-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii (MDR Ab) strains isolated in the same temporal sequence from hospital infections (HI) and from two WWTPs collecting wastewaters (Is and Gl) from Northern Romania.

Experimental Procedure: The strains isolated on carbapenem and third generation cephalosporin supplemented culture media were identified  and characterized for their resistance profiles  using phenotypic (disc-diffusimetric) and genetic (PCR and ERIC- PCR) methods.

Acknowledgements: This paper was co-financed from the Human Capital Operational Program 2014-2020, project number POCU / 380/6/13/125245 no. 36482 / 23.05.2019 “Excellence in interdisciplinary PhD and post-PhD research, career alternatives through entrepreneurial initiative (EXCIA)”, coordinator The Bucharest University of Economic Studies

Results: A total of 1 HI/34 WWTP MDR Ab (Is) and 28 WWTP MDR Ab strains (Gl) were isolated and tested for resistance. 40% of the clinical and water isolates showed resistance to all antibiotics tested. The resistance rates of Is WWTP vs Gl WWTP Ab strains    were 71.4%/17.8 % (SAM), 94.2%/100% (FOX), 100%/82.1% (ATM), 80%/71.4% for (MEM), 82.8%/85.7% (CIP), 82.8%/78.5%

Conclusion:  The MDR Ab strains circulating in the hospital and released in the wastewater environments in Northern Romania belonged  to multiple clones and revealed high resistance rates to beta- lactams, quinolones, aminoglycosides and tetracyclines, >50% harbouring carbapenemases, thus essentially contributing to the environmental reservoir of antimicrobial resistance.