Molecular Characterization and Antimicrobial Resistance Pattern of Recovered from Wastewater Treatment Plants in Eastern Cape South Africa

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are designed to eliminate organic matter and pathogens but most WWTPs discharges antimicrobial resistance pathogens into aquatic milieu. The study aimed to examine the antibiotics resistant patterns and the presence of some resistance genes among isolates from WWTPs effluents. Water were collected from WWTPs final effluents, filtered through nitrocellulose membrane and the filter papers were placed on chromogenic agar plates, incubated for 24 h at 37 °C. Presumptive isolates (173) were obtained from the culture method. From the presumptive isolates screened by polymerase chain reaction (PCR), 111 isolates were positive and the positive isolates were further screened for six diarrheagenic pathotypes (EPEC, ETEC, EHEC, DAEC, EIEC, and EAEC) and from the pathotypes screened, nine isolates harboured gene. The phenotypic susceptibility patterns of the 111 isolates to 12 antibiotics were determined by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion technique. All the isolates were resistant to erythromycin and clindamycin. From the resistance genes screened, 31 isolates harboured gene and nine isolates harboured gene. The study reveals that water samples recovered from the final effluents of WWTPs may likely be one of the major sources of antibiotic-resistant in .