scholarly journals Insights into the bacterial profiles and resistome structures following severe 2018 flood in Kerala, South India

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Soumya Jaya Divakaran ◽  
Jamiema Sara Philip ◽  
Padma Chereddy ◽  
Sai Ravi Chandra Nori ◽  
Akshay Jaya Ganesh ◽  
...  

AbstractExtreme flooding is one of the major risk factors for human health, and it can significantly influence the microbial communities and enhance the mobility of infectious disease agents within its affected areas. The flood crisis in 2018 was one of the severe natural calamities recorded in the southern state of India (Kerala) that significantly affected its economy and ecological habitat. We utilized a combination of shotgun metagenomics and bioinformatics approaches for understanding microbiome disruption and the dissemination of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria on flooded sites. Here we report, altered bacterial profiles at the flooded sites having 77 significantly different bacterial genera in comparison with non-flooded mangrove settings. The flooded regions were heavily contaminated with faecal contamination indicators such asEscherichia coliandEnterococcus faecalisand resistant strains ofPseudomonas aeruginosa, SalmonellaTyphi/Typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio choleraeandStaphylococcus aureus. The resistome of the flooded sites contains 103 resistant genes, of which 38% are encoded in plasmids, where most of them are associated with pathogens. The presence of 6 pathogenic bacteria and its susceptibility to multiple antibiotics including ampicillin, chloramphenicol, kanamycin and tetracycline hydrochloride were confirmed in flooded and post-flooded sites using traditional culture-based analysis followed by 16S rRNA sequencing. Our results reveal altered bacterial profile following a devastating flood event with elevated levels of both faecal contamination indicators and resistant strains of pathogenic bacteria. The circulation of raw sewage from waste treatment settings and urban area might facilitate the spreading of pathogenic bacteria and resistant genes.

2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (10) ◽  
pp. 474
Author(s):  
Soumya Jaya Divakaran ◽  
Jamiema Sara Philip ◽  
Padma Chereddy ◽  
Sai Ravi Chandra Nori ◽  
Akshay Jaya Ganesh ◽  
...  

Extreme flooding is one of the major risk factors for human health, and it can significantly influence the microbial communities and enhance the mobility of infectious disease agents within the affected areas. The flood crisis in 2018 was one of the severe natural calamities recorded in the southern state of India (Kerala) that significantly affected its economy and ecological habitat. We utilized a combination of shotgun metagenomics and bioinformatics approaches to understand the bacterial profile and the abundance of pathogenic and antibiotic-resistant bacteria in extremely flooded areas of Kuttanad, Kerala (4–10 feet below sea level). Here we report the bacterial profiles of flooded sites that are abundant with virulent and resistant bacteria. The flooded sites were heavily contaminated with faecal contamination indicators such as Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis and multidrug-resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella typhi/typhimurium, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Vibrio cholerae. The resistome of the flooded sites contains 103 known resistant genes, of which 38% are plasmid-encoded, where most of them are known to be associated with pathogenic bacteria. Our results reveal an overall picture of the bacterial profile and resistome of sites following a devastating flood event, which might increase the levels of pathogens and its associated risks.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 110
Author(s):  
Godfred Saviour Kudjo Azaglo ◽  
Mohammed Khogali ◽  
Katrina Hann ◽  
John Alexis Pwamang ◽  
Emmanuel Appoh ◽  
...  

Inappropriate use of antibiotics has led to the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in ambient air. There is no published information about the presence and resistance profiles of bacteria in ambient air in Ghana. We evaluated the presence and antibiotic resistance profiles of selected bacterial, environmental and meteorological characteristics and airborne bacterial counts in 12 active air quality monitoring sites (seven roadside, two industrial and three residential) in Accra in February 2020. Roadside sites had the highest median temperature, relative humidity, wind speed and PM10 concentrations, and median airborne bacterial counts in roadside sites (115,000 CFU/m3) were higher compared with industrial (35,150 CFU/m3) and residential sites (1210 CFU/m3). Bacillus species were isolated in all samples and none were antibiotic resistant. There were, however, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas species, non-hemolytic Streptococci, Coliforms and Staphylococci species, of which six (50%) showed mono-resistance or multidrug resistance to four antibiotics (penicillin, ampicillin, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone). There was a positive correlation between PM10 concentrations and airborne bacterial counts (rs = 0.72), but no correlations were found between PM10 concentrations and the pathogenic bacteria nor their antibiotic resistance. We call for the expansion of surveillance of ambient air to other cities of Ghana to obtain nationally representative information.


2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-35
Author(s):  
Deepak Dwivedi ◽  
Tejram Kushwah ◽  
Mukesh Kushwah ◽  
Vinod Singh

Antibiotics to treat dental caries infection are routinely prescribed which led to the increased resistance against bacteria. The purpose of this investigation was to perform antibiotic susceptibility tests on a panel of pathogenic bacteria isolated from dental caries infection. Bacteria were isolated from caries site of patients and identified at the species level. Each of 150 species of bacteria was tested for antibiotics susceptibility to a five antibiotics using Etest. The antibiotics used were Amoxicillin, Cloxocillin, Erythromycin, Tetracycline and Penicillin‐V. The obtained resistance percentage for each antibiotic were Penicillin V: 72/150 (48%), Tetracycline: 99/150 (66%), Amoxicillin: 135/150 (90%), Cloxocillin: 117/150 (78%), and Erythromycin: 90/150 (60%) (Table 1). In case of combinatorial antibiotic exposure, the resistance percentage of Penicillin V/Amoxicillin and Amoxicillin/ Erythromycin was 39/150 (26%), and 45/150 (30%) respectively. The study has well demonstrated the clinical picture of antibiotic resistance and susceptibility pattern of bacteria causing dental caries. The obtained comprehensive data will allow investigating the spatial distribution of pathogenic, antibiotic resistant bacteria among dental caries patients which further may help into development of novel diagnostic and treatment approaches for the same.


2017 ◽  
Vol 63 (11) ◽  
pp. 865-879 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayman El-Shibiny ◽  
Salma El-Sahhar

Since their discovery in 1915, bacteriophages have been used to treat bacterial infections in animals and humans because of their unique ability to infect their specific bacterial hosts without affecting other bacterial populations. The research carried out in this field throughout the 20th century, largely in Georgia, part of USSR and Poland, led to the establishment of phage therapy protocols. However, the discovery of penicillin and sulfonamide antibiotics in the Western World during the 1930s was a setback in the advancement of phage therapy. The misuse of antibiotics has reduced their efficacy in controlling pathogens and has led to an increase in the number of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. As an alternative to antibiotics, bacteriophages have become a topic of interest with the emergence of multidrug-resistant bacteria, which are a threat to public health. Recent studies have indicated that bacteriophages can be used indirectly to detect pathogenic bacteria or directly as biocontrol agents. Moreover, they can be used to develop new molecules for clinical applications, vaccine production, drug design, and in the nanomedicine field via phage display.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-4
Author(s):  
Omor Ahmed Chowdhury ◽  
Md Raihan Ahmed ◽  
Md Raihan Dipu ◽  
Md Aftab Uddin

The use of earphones has increased in recent times throughout the world especially among the different level of students such as school, college or university who have a higher tendency of sharing these among them. Unlike airline headsets, headphones and stethoscope ear-pieces, ear phones are often shared by multiple users and can be a potential medium for transmission of pathogens, which can give rise to various ear related infections. The objective of this study was to detect the pathogenic bacteria from the ear-phones used by the students of Stamford University Bangladesh. A total of 16 ear-phone swabs were collected by sterile cotton swabs. The swabs were inoculated onto blood agar and incubated aerobically overnight at 37oC. Microscopic observation and standard biochemical tests were performed to confirm the identification of all the bacterial isolates. Six presumptively identified Staphylococcus spp. (38%) were tested against six different types of antibiotics following Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion method. Isolates were found to be 84% resistant against Cotrimoxazole and demonstrated 100% sensitivity to Vancomycin and Ciprorofloxacin. The findings of this study suggest the users to disinfect their respective ear phones and not to exchange them as they may act as a potential source to transfer pathogenic and antibiotic resistant bacteria among the ear phone users. Stamford Journal of Microbiology, Vol.10 (1) 2020: 1-4


2019 ◽  
Vol 366 (8) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sophie Van Hamelsveld ◽  
Muyiwa E Adewale ◽  
Brigitta Kurenbach ◽  
William Godsoe ◽  
Jon S Harding ◽  
...  

Abstract Baseline studies are needed to identify environmental reservoirs of non-pathogenic but associating microbiota or pathogenic bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics and to inform safe use of freshwater ecosystems in urban and agricultural settings. Mesophilic bacteria and Escherichia coli were quantified and isolated from water and sediments of two rivers, one in an urban and one in an agricultural area near Christchurch, New Zealand. Resistance of E. coli to one or more of nine different antibiotics was determined. Additionally, selected strains were tested for conjugative transfer of resistances. Despite having similar concentrations of mesophilic bacteria and E. coli, the rivers differed in numbers of antibiotic-resistant E. coli isolates. Fully antibiotic-susceptible and -resistant strains coexist in the two freshwater ecosystems. This study was the first phase of antibiotic resistance profiling in an urban setting and an intensifying dairy agroecosystem. Antibiotic-resistant E. coli may pose different ingestion and contact risks than do susceptible E. coli. This difference cannot be seen in population counts alone. This is an important finding for human health assessments of freshwater systems, particularly where recreational uses occur downstream.


2019 ◽  
Vol 20 (6) ◽  
pp. 1255 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ana Monserrat-Martinez ◽  
Yann Gambin ◽  
Emma Sierecki

Since their discovery in the early 20th century, antibiotics have been used as the primary weapon against bacterial infections. Due to their prophylactic effect, they are also used as part of the cocktail of drugs given to treat complex diseases such as cancer or during surgery, in order to prevent infection. This has resulted in a decrease of mortality from infectious diseases and an increase in life expectancy in the last 100 years. However, as a consequence of administering antibiotics broadly to the population and sometimes misusing them, antibiotic-resistant bacteria have appeared. The emergence of resistant strains is a global health threat to humanity. Highly-resistant bacteria like Staphylococcus aureus (methicillin-resistant) or Enterococcus faecium (vancomycin-resistant) have led to complications in intensive care units, increasing medical costs and putting patient lives at risk. The appearance of these resistant strains together with the difficulty in finding new antimicrobials has alarmed the scientific community. Most of the strategies currently employed to develop new antibiotics point towards novel approaches for drug design based on prodrugs or rational design of new molecules. However, targeting crucial bacterial processes by these means will keep creating evolutionary pressure towards drug resistance. In this review, we discuss antibiotic resistance and new options for antibiotic discovery, focusing in particular on new alternatives aiming to disarm the bacteria or empower the host to avoid disease onset.


The Analyst ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 145 (22) ◽  
pp. 7320-7329
Author(s):  
Muhammad Asif ◽  
Fazli Rabbi Awan ◽  
Qaiser Mahmood Khan ◽  
Bongkot Ngamsom ◽  
Nicole Pamme

We investigate paper microfluidic devices for detection of pathogenic bacteria and their sensitivity towards β-lactamase and Extended Spectrum Beta Lactamases (ESBLs) in milk samples to enable appropriate prescription of antibiotics for mastitis.


Antibiotics ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 871
Author(s):  
Wen-Jie Ng ◽  
Nam-Weng Sit ◽  
Peter Aun-Chuan Ooi ◽  
Kah-Yaw Ee ◽  
Tuck-Meng Lim

Scientific studies about the antibacterial effects of honeydew honey produced by the stingless bee are very limited. In this study, the antibacterial activities of 46 blossom and honeydew honeys produced by both honey bees and stingless bees were evaluated and compared. All bacterial isolates showed varying degrees of susceptibility to blossom and honeydew honeys produced by the honey bee (Apis cerana) and stingless bee (Heterotrigona itama and Geniotrigona thoracica) in agar-well diffusion. All stingless bee honeys managed to inhibit all the isolates but only four out of 23 honey bee honeys achieved that. In comparison with Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli was found to be more susceptible to the antibacterial effects of honey. Bactericidal effects of stingless bee honeys on E. coli were determined with the measurement of endotoxins released due to cell lysis. Based on the outcomes, the greatest antibacterial effects were observed in honeydew honey produced by H. itama. Scanning electron microscopic images revealed the morphological alteration and destruction of E. coli due to the action of this honey. The combination of this honey with antibiotics showed synergistic inhibitory effects on E. coli clinical isolates. This study revealed that honeydew honey produced by H. itama stingless bee has promising antibacterial activity against pathogenic bacteria, including antibiotic resistant strains.


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