Assessment of the Physicochemical Qualities and Prevalence of Escherichia coli and Vibrios in the Final Effluents of Two Wastewater Treatment Plants in South Africa: Ecological and Public Health Implications

The final effluents of two wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa were evaluated for their physicochemical and microbiological qualities over a period of 12 months. The physicochemical parameters assessed ranged as follows both plants. The ranges of values for the physicochemical are: pH (3.9–8.6), total dissolved solids (86.50–336.3 mg/L), electrical conductivity (13.57–52.50 mS/m), temperature (13–28 °C), nitrate (0–21.73 mg/L), nitrite (0.01–0.60 mg/L), orthophosphate (1.29–20.57 mg/L), turbidity (4.02–43.20 NTU), free chlorine (0.05–7.18 mg/L), dissolve oxygen (3.91–9.60 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (0.1–9.0 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (4.67–211 mg/L). The microbiological assessment for both WWTPs revealed the presence of E. coli in counts ranging between 0 and 1.86 × 104 CFU/100 mL and Vibrio counts ranging between 0 and 9.93 × 103 CFU/100 mL. We conclude that these WWTPs are important point sources of pollution in surface water with potential public health and ecological risks

Commensal Staphylococcus spp., Acinetobacter spp. and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia as reservoirs of antibiotic resistance genes

Staphylococcus species, Acinetobacter species and Stenotrophomonas maltophilia are of particular importance as they sometimes reside as flora on the intact skin and nasal passages of man and farm animals. Studies around the globe have shown them as “friends and foes” especially in immunocompromised individuals as they occur as commensals but sometimes as pathogens that infect, causing morbidity and consequently higher therapeutic cost. The occurrence of antibiotic resistance gene(s) in their genomes and their phenotypic display of resistance make them difficult to control and places a high demand on the assessment of such genes in the bacteria. In doing this, the less considered (commensals) have been described more recently as a reservoir for antibiotic resistance genes. The transfer of heavy metal and antibiotic resistance genes from Staphylococcus spp., a Gram positive bacterium to S. maltophilia and Acinetobacter species, Gram negative bacteria confer the resilience to control measures that is peculiar with the former on the latter. This attribute in Acinetobacter spp. and S. maltophilia have encouraged their inclusion in drug screening research. Intermittent assessment of resistance genes in the ecosystem should be embraced to foster appropriate measures against their spread.Keyword: Commensal, resistance genes, Staphylococcus, Acinetobacter, Stenotrophomonas maltophili

Investigating the occurrence of E. coli O157:H7 in the final effluents of two wastewater treatment plants.

AIM: The final effluent of two wastewater plants located in the Eastern Cape of South Africa were tested for the presence of Enterohaemorrhagic Escherichia coli O157:H7 (E. coli O157:H7) isolates, and characteristics of the isolates obtained were determined. METHODS AND RESULTS: A total of 23 wastewater samples were collected from the treatment plants at the final effluent point after the disinfectant stages of wastewater processing. Altogether, 540 presumptive E. coli isolates were obtained by colony counting on the E. coli O157:H7 chromogenic agar base supplemented with cefixime tellurite and were sub-cultured onto sorbitol-MacConkey agar and tested for agglutination using the Prolex E. coli O157 latex test reagent kit. The results showed that the 149 suspected colonies from SMAC agar were all negative for the antisera. CONCLUSION: None of the isolates agglutinated with antisera against E. coli O157. Thus no presence of the bacteria can be confirmed from the treated effluents SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF STUDY: The likelihood of the receiving water body and the environment being contaminated with E. coli O157:H7 is therefore minimal

Incidence of human adenoviruses and Hepatitis A virus in the final effluent of selected wastewater treatment plants in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Municipal effluent constitutes a large reservoir of human enteric viruses and bacteria. Contemporary monitoring practices rely on indicator bacteria, and do not test for viruses. Different viruses, including Norwalk-like viruses, Hepatitis A virus (HAV), adenoviruses, and rotaviruses, are important agents of illnesses in humans. The burden of disease caused by adenoviruses manifests as pneumonia, bronchiolitis, otitis media, conjunctivitis, and tonsillitis, whereas HAV infection can manifest as acute inflammatory diseases of the liver, fever, anorexia, malaise, nausea, and abdominal discomfort, followed by jaundice and dark urine. The public health implications of these viruses depend upon the physiological status of the wastewater microbial community

Analytical Methods for Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and their Global Trend of Distribution in Water and Sediment: A Review

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are major organic pollutants in the environment, which are toxic to humans and biota, given their carcinogenic, mutagenic and teratogenic nature. In this chapter, we carried out an overview of the sources and toxicity of PAHs, their common analytical methods of determination in the water and sediment samples, and also their global trend of distribution, with a view to provide baseline guidance for relevant control authorities. The choice methods for determining these contaminants are high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with UV/fluorescence detectors and GC/MS. Mass spectrometer coupled with GC is preferred because it offers robust identification of the analyte compounds both by retention time and mass spectrum, with additional structural information. Results collated revealed an extensive distribution of PAHs with total mean concentrations ranging from 0.0003 to 42,350 μg/L in water and 0 to 1.266 × 109 μg/kg (dw) in the sediment. PAHs in the two environmental matrices were much higher in the regions with intense oil exploration, shipping and industrial activities. It is therefore necessary to regularly monitor their levels in the aquatic environment, so as to provide mitigation options that will prevent risk to humans and aquatic animals

Vibrio Fluvialis: An Unusual Enteric Pathogen of Increasing Public Health Concern

In developing countries, the fraction of treated wastewater effluents being discharged into watersheds have increased over the period of time, which have led to the deteriorations of the qualities of major rivers in developing nations. Consequently, high densities of disease causing bacteria in the watersheds are regularly reported including incidences of emerging Vibrio fluvialis. Vibrio fluvialis infection remains among those infectious diseases posing a potentially serious threat to public health. This paper addresses the epidemiology of this pathogen; pathogenesis of its disease; and its clinical manifestations in humans

Performance of NiFe 2

Investigation into the reduction of Cr(VI) in aqueous solution was carried out through some batch photocatalytic studies. The photocatalysts used were silica coated nickel ferrite nanoparticles (NiFe2O4-SiO2), nickel ferrite titanium dioxide (NiFe2O4-TiO2), nickel ferrite silica titanium dioxide (NiFe2O4-SiO2-TiO2), and titanium dioxide (TiO2). The characterization of the materials prepared via stepwise synthesis using coprecipitation and sol-gel methods were carried out with the aid of X-ray diffraction (XRD), transmission electron microscopy (TEM), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). The reduction efficiency was studied as a function of pH, photocatalyst dose, and contact time. The effects of silica interlayer between the magnetic photocatalyst materials reveal that reduction efficiency of NiFe2O4-SiO2-TiO2 towards Cr(VI) was higher than that of NiFe2O4-TiO2. However, TiO2 was observed to have the highest reduction efficiency at all batch photocatalytic experiments. Kinetics study shows that photocatalytic reduction of Cr(VI) obeyed Langmuir-Hinshelwood model and first-order rate kinetics. Regenerability study also suggested that the photocatalyst materials can be reused

Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial screening of 2,4-diaminopyrimidine pyrimethamine and trimethoprim silver complexes

Air stable silver Ag(I) complexes of pyrimethamine and trimethoprim drugs have been synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopy, and conductivity measurement. The metal complexes formed a three and four coordinate geometry with the ligands acting as a monodentate molecule bonding to the silver ion in each case through the pyrimidine N (1) nitrogen. The complexes have non-electrolyte behaviour in dimethylformamide (DMF) solution with its low conductivity values. Silver complexes, their free ligands alongside the corresponding silver salts were screened against selected bacterial isolates. All the silver complexes showed enhanced antibacterial activities compared to their free ligands and potential antibacterial agents have been identified.Key words: Pyrimethamine, trimethoprim, silver complexes, antibacterial screening, minimum inhibitory concentration

Detection and antibiotic susceptibility of pathogenic Escherichia coli isolated from the final effluent of two wastewater treatment Plants in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

Wastewater is an important reservoir for Escherichia coli and can present significant acute toxicity if released into receiving water sources without being adequately treated. To analyze whether pathogenic E. coli strains that cause infections are in treated effluent and to recognize antibiotic profile. 476 confirmed isolates from two treatment Plants were characterized for the presence of various E. coli pathotypes. A total of 8 pathotypes were screened and only four were confirmed. UPEC was about 5.7% followed by EAEC at 2.3%, NMEC at 1.1% and EPEC at 0.6%. Antibiotic susceptibility patterns of E. coli pathotypes such as UPEC showed low resistance to antibiotics like meropenem (100%), cefotaxime (100%) and gentamicin (88.9%). The pathotype also showed high degrees of resistance to tetracycline (74.1%), ampicillin (74.1%) and cephalothin (66.7%). Other E. coli pathotypes, EAEC, NMEC and EPEC, showed high sensitivity (100%) to meropenem, gentamicin and cefotaxime, and varying degree of resistances to ampicillin, tetracycline and cephalothin. The results of this study reveal that the two Plants discharge effluents with pathogenic E. coli and are reservoir for the bacteria into receiving water sources. In summary, this finding raises the possibility that at least some pathogenic E. coli pathotypes are getting into the environment through WWTPs and represent potential route for enteropathogenic infection. In addition, certain pathotypes may have acquired resistance properties, becoming a potential cause of drug resistance infection. This study reveals inadequacy of the plants studied to produce effluents of acceptable qualit