Prevalance and Antimicrobial Susceptibility Patterns of Salmonella Typhi and Escherichia Coli in Drinking Water of Sub-Division Hassan Khel Peshawar

Abstract

Globally outbreaks of water-borne diseases are extensively threatening public health. In Pakistan, various reports confirmed different diseases regarding drinking water including typhoid fever, diarrhea, urinary tract infection, anemia, and kidney failure. The causative agents associated with diseases are Salmonella typhi and Escherichia coli. S. typhi and E. coli both are gram negative rod shaped bacteria spreading through contaminated drinking water by the fecal-oral route due to non-hygienic and poor sanitation environments. Both bacteria are emerging Multi-Drug Resistant (MDR) organisms, increasing morbidity & mortality rates. The current study was designed to evaluate the presence of S. typhi and E. coli in the drinking water of Sub-Division Hassan Khel Peshawar. Further, to determine MDR bacteria from water and screening ESBL producing bacteria, and detect heavy metals in drinking water. A total of 100 drinking water samples collected from different drinking water sources aseptically, from the studied area from September 2020 to September 2021 at a research laboratory of Abbottabad University of Science and technology. The collected water samples were inoculated on Salmonella Shigella Agar and Eosin Methylene Blue Agar. Bacterial Identification was done using gram staining and biochemical tests. Muller-Hinton agar was used for the determination of antibiotic resistance. Furthermore, the analysis of heavy metals (cadmium, copper, and lead) was done by atomic spectrometry. The overall prevalence of S. typhi and E. coli was 22 and 52% respectively in drinking water. Most of these S. typhi were resistant to AMP (90.9%), followed by S (45.4%) SFX, SXT (40.9%), CRO, CXM, FEP, CAZ (31.8%), AMC, CIP (27.3%), C, TE (22.7%). While all isolates were 100% sensitive to AZM. Out of 22 S. typhi isolates 7(31.8%) were ESBL producers. Furthermore, out of 52 isolates of E. coli, most were resistant to AMP (82.6%), followed by S (44.2%) SFX (42.3%), TE (34.6%) C, SXT (32.7%), CRO, CXM, FEP, CAZ (30.7%), AMC (26.9%) and CIP (21.1%). While all isolates of E. coli were 100% sensitive to AZM.16 (30.7%) E. coli isolates were ESBL producers. Furthermore, overall out of 100 drinking samples, heavy metals were detected in 72% samples. Copper was the most common metal found in 61.0% of samples followed by lead and cadmium 55.0% and 48.0% respectively. This study concluded that water used for drinking purposes in the study area is currently not protected under government authorities. It is highly recommended for government authorities to manage water purification plants that could prevent transmission of pathogenic microbes and save the masses of this territory from water-borne diseases.