SPREAD OF ANTIBIOTICS RESISTANT PATHOGENS THROUGH MUNICIPAL WASTEWATER: A REVIEW.

Wastewater treatment is aimed at preserving public health and environments. The chemical, biological and microbial composition of wastewater influents are reflections of their different background sources. Wastewater treatment targets two fundamental purposes: prevention of pollution of water bodies and that of spread of diseases through control of microbial population. This review focuses on the microbiological component of wastewaters with interest in the antibiotics resistant pathogens and how they are spread among human and animal populations. The microbiological characteristics of different wastewater treatment plants across the world were reviewed with special interest in bacterial pathogens and occurrence of resistant strains. According to studies carried out in the last ten years, wastewaters of clinical and environmental backgrounds have been found to harbour antibiotic resistant bacteria. Those from clinical origins are predominantly human pathogens, especially enteric bacteria, while those from environmental backgrounds contain known pathogens and probiotics. Their resistivity to antibiotics may be attributed to constant selection pressure exerted on them by the antibiotic components of the influents, emanating from health care background, or from the exposures to antibacterial chemicals used in the industries or in the waste treatments. Common pathogens isolated from wastewaters according to the reviewed studies include organisms from the genera Enterobacter, Escherichia, Serratia, Achromobacter, Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas, Klebsiella, Proteus, Citrobacter, Staphylococcus, Aeromonas, Enterococcus, Vibrio, Leptospira, Salmonella, Shigella, Listeria, Streptococcus, Clostridium, Bacillus, Yersinia and several others. In order to prevent serious environmental pollution and health hazards, further treatments of the wastewaters aimed at completely removing pathogens, are necessary before discharging them into the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]