Role of Hospital Effluents in the Contribution of Antibiotics and Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria to the Aquatic Environment

Abstract

Water samples were collected from 18 sampling sites including the three hospitals their Municipal Wastewater (MWW) drains receiving the hospital sewage and from the river Ravi. The occurrence and fate of ofloxacin (OFLX) and resistance of Vibrio cholerae due to the presence of OFLX was studied. It was found that 16 out of 18 sites were contaminated by the antibiotic. Highest concentration was observed in hospital wastewater (HWW) ranged from 7.31 to 39.13 μg/L and amount of OFLX in the municipal wastewater before mixing the hospital sewage was 0.26 to 0.43 μg/L and after mixing it raised up to 0.54 to 1.29 μg/L. At the entering point of the MWW drains to the river, concentration 0.44 and 0.31 μg/L were observed in the two drains carrying the HWW to the river, respectively. Upstream concentration from the point of entering of the first and second drains was 0.14 and 0.22 μg/L while the downstream concentration was 0.18 and 0.37 μg/L, respectively. The antibiotic was not detected from both the samples collected from the entering point of the river to the city and before entering of the first MWW drain, whereas the after mixing the first drain the concentration 0.043 μg/L was observed. The bacteria isolated from HWW, MWW drains and the river Ravi were 83% 66% and 83% resistant to OFLX, respectively.