Drug resistance in airborne bacteria isolated from waste management and wastewater treatment plants in Olsztyn

Department of Environmental Microbiology, University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland

^* Corresponding author: jacek.potorski@uwm.edu.pl

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) and municipal waste management plants (MWMPs) emit bioaerosols containing potentially pathogenic biological components which post a threat for human health. Microbiological monitoring supports evaluations of the antibiotic resistance (AR) of airborne microorganisms and the relevant health risks. The aim of this study was to analyze the microbiological quality of air sampled in a WWTP and MWMP in Olsztyn based on total bacterial counts, the presence of bacteria resistant to three antibiotic classes (beta-lactams, tetracyclines and chloramphenicol) and genes encoding resistance to these antibiotics (blaTEM, blaSHV, blaCMY-2, blaAmpC, tet(M), tet(A), tet(X), tet(B), cmlA, floR, fexA, fexB and catA1 ). Bacterial counts were higher in air samples collected from the MWMP (~10⁴ CFU/m³) than from the WWTP (10¹–10³ CFU/m³). A similar trend was noted in the counts of antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB). The abundance of ARB did not exceed 1.7 x 10² CFU/m³ in WWTP samples, but was higher at up to 4.2 x 10³ CFU/m³ in MWMP samples. Bacteria resistant to doxycycline were least prevalent in the analyzed ARB. In the group of 49 tested bacterial strains, 44 harbored at least one of the analyzed antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs). A comparison of ARGs in all bacterial strains isolated from WWTP and MWMP air samples revealed the highest diversity and prevalence of ARGs in the samples collected in the mechanical segment of the waste processing line in MWMP and the biological segment of the wastewater processing line in WWTP. The results of this study point to high microbiological contamination of air in MWMPs and WWTPs which are reservoirs of ARB and ARGs and potential sources of AR.