Carbapenem-resistant isolates of Acinetobacter baumannii in a municipal wastewater treatment plant, Croatia, 2014.
Acinetobacter baumannii is an emerging hospital pathogen. Whereas A. baumannii isolated from patients or hospitals has been reported, there are few data regarding propagation of viable A. baumannii in the natural environment. This study investigates the occurrence and antimicrobial susceptibility of viable A. baumannii in municipal wastewater and its persistence through the wastewater treatment process. A total of 21 A. baumannii isolates were recovered at a secondary type of municipal wastewater treatment plant in Zagreb, Croatia: 15 from raw influent wastewater and six from final effluent. All isolates were carbapenem- and multidrug-resistant. Among 14 isolates tested for blaOXA genes, all harboured the constitutive blaOXA-51-like gene, while the acquired blaOXA-23-like and blaOXA-40-like genes were found in 10 and three isolates respectively. Six A. baumannii isolates recovered from effluent wastewater multiplied and survived in sterilised effluent wastewater up to 50 days. These findings support the idea that multidrug-resistant A. baumannii can occur and have the ability to survive in the environment.
University of Zagreb, Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, Zagreb, Croatia.
Jasna
J
Hrenovic
Ivana
I
Goic-Barisic
Snjezana
S
Kazazic
Ana
A
Kovacic
Marin
M
Ganjto
Marija
M
Tonkic
D040981:Acinetobacter baumannii / Q000187:drug effects* / Q000235:genetics / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D015780:Carbapenems / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002947:Cities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017523:Croatia; D024881:Drug Resistance, Bacterial / Q000187:drug effects / Q000502:physiology; D013045:Species Specificity; D062065:Wastewater / Q000382:microbiology*; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis*; D018508:Water Purification / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
D015780:Carbapenems; D062065:Wastewater; D014873:Water Pollutants
Acinetobacter baumannii; environment; multidrug resistance; public health; wastewater