Skip to main content
PMC home page
Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy logoLink to Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy
. 1973 Feb;3(2):175–180. doi: 10.1128/aac.3.2.175

Drug Resistance of Coliform Bacteria in Hospital and City Sewage

W O K Grabow 1, O W Prozesky 1
PMCID: PMC444383  PMID: 4597713

Abstract

The number and properties of drug-resistant coliform bacteria in hospital and city sewage were compared. There was little difference in the counts of organisms with nontransferable resistance to one or more of 13 commonly used drugs. An average of 26% of coliforms in hospital waste water had transferable resistance to at least one of the drugs ampicillin, chloramphenicol, streptomycin, sulfonamide, or tetracycline as compared to an average of 4% in city sewage. R+ bacteria in the hospital discharge were also resistant to a broader spectrum of drugs than those in city sewage. In both effluents, the occurrence of fecal Escherichia coli among R+ coliforms was twice as high as among coliforms with nontransferable resistance. Resistance was transferable to Salmonella typhi, and such drug-resistant pathogens in the water environment could be of particular concern. The significance of the results with regard to environmental pollution with R+ bacteria and the dissemination of these organisms is discussed.

Full text

PDF
176

Selected References

These references are in PubMed. This may not be the complete list of references from this article.

  1. Anderson E. S. The ecology of transferable drug resistance in the enterobacteria. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1968;22:131–180. doi: 10.1146/annurev.mi.22.100168.001023. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  2. Bulger R. J., Larson E., Sherris J. C. Decreased incidences of resistance to antimicrobial agents among Escherichia coli and Klebsiella-enterobacter. Observations in a university hospital over a 10-year period. Ann Intern Med. 1970 Jan;72(1):65–71. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-72-1-65. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  3. COETZEE J. N., DE KLERK H. C., MARE I. J. SODIUM AZIDE RESISTANCE IN PROTEUS HAUSERI. J Gen Microbiol. 1963 Nov;33:313–323. doi: 10.1099/00221287-33-2-313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  4. Datta N. Drug resistance and R factors in the bowel bacteria of London patients before and after admission to hospital. Br Med J. 1969 May 17;2(5654):407–411. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5654.407. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  5. Davies J. E., Rownd R. Transmissible multiple drug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. Science. 1972 May 19;176(4036):758–768. doi: 10.1126/science.176.4036.758. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  6. FINLAND M., JONES W. F., Jr, BARNES M. W. Occurrence of serious bacterial infections since introduction of antibacterial agents. J Am Med Assoc. 1959 Aug 29;170:2188–2197. doi: 10.1001/jama.1959.63010180008012. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  7. Gill F. A., Hook E. W. Changing patterns of bacterial resistance to antimicrobial drugs. Am J Med. 1965 Nov;39(5):780–795. doi: 10.1016/0002-9343(65)90097-5. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  8. KASUYA M. TRANSFER OF DRUG RESISTANCE BETWEEN ENTERIC BACTERIA INDUCED IN THE MOUSE INTESTINE. J Bacteriol. 1964 Aug;88:322–328. doi: 10.1128/jb.88.2.322-328.1964. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  9. Manten A., Guinée P. A., Kampelmacher E. H., Voogd C. E. An eleven-year study of drug resistance in Salmonella in the Netherlands. Bull World Health Organ. 1971;45(1):85–93. [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  10. Maré I. J., Coetzee J. N. The incidence of transmissible drug resistance factors among strains of Escherichia coli in the Pretoria area. S Afr Med J. 1966 Nov 5;40(40):980–981. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  11. Mercer H. D., Pocurull D., Gaines S., Wilson S., Bennett J. V. Characteristics of antimicrobial resistance of Escherichia coli from animals: relationship to veterinary and management uses of antimicrobial agents. Appl Microbiol. 1971 Oct;22(4):700–705. doi: 10.1128/am.22.4.700-705.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  12. Mitsuhashi S. The R factors. J Infect Dis. 1969 Jan;119(1):89–100. doi: 10.1093/infdis/119.1.89. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  13. Moorhouse E. C., O'Grady M. F., O'Connor H. Isolation from sausages of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli with R factors. Lancet. 1969 Jul 5;2(7610):50–52. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(69)92614-2. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  14. Moorhouse E. C. Transferable drug resistance in enterobacteria isolated from urban infants. Br Med J. 1969 May 17;2(5654):405–407. doi: 10.1136/bmj.2.5654.405. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  15. Smith H. W. Incidence of R + Escherichia coli in coastal bathing waters of Britain. Nature. 1971 Nov 19;234(5325):155–156. doi: 10.1038/234155a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  16. Smith H. W. Incidence of river water of Escherichia coli containing R factors. Nature. 1970 Dec 26;228(5278):1286–1288. doi: 10.1038/2281286a0. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  17. Sturtevant A. B., Cassell G. H., Feary T. W. Incidence of infectious drug resistance among fecal coliforms isolated from raw sewage. Appl Microbiol. 1971 Mar;21(3):487–491. doi: 10.1128/am.21.3.487-491.1971. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  18. Sturtevant A. B., Jr, Feary T. W. Incidence of infectious drug resistance among lactose-fermenting bacteria isolated from raw and treated sewage. Appl Microbiol. 1969 Nov;18(5):918–924. doi: 10.1128/am.18.5.918-924.1969. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  19. Van Rensburg A. J. The molecular nature of a drug resistance factor in Proteus mirabilis. S Afr Med J. 1972 Feb 26;46(9):200–202. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  20. WATANABE T., FUKASAWA T. Episome-mediated transfer of drug resistance in Enterobacteriaceae. II. Elimination of resistance factors with acridine dyes. J Bacteriol. 1961 May;81:679–683. doi: 10.1128/jb.81.5.679-683.1961. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  21. Walton J. R. Contamination of meat carcasses by antibiotic-resistant coliform bacteria. Lancet. 1970 Sep 12;2(7672):561–563. doi: 10.1016/s0140-6736(70)91361-9. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  22. Watanabe T. Infectious drug resistance in bacteria. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1971;56:43–98. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-65241-7_3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  23. Woods D. R., Marcos D., Hendry D. A. The incidence of R factors among coliform bacteria. S Afr Med J. 1972 Feb 19;46(8):189–191. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
  24. van den Heever L. W. Antibiotic resistance and R-factors in Escherichia coli from calves, meat and milk. J S Afr Vet Assoc. 1972 Mar;43(1):71–75. [PubMed] [Google Scholar]

Articles from Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy are provided here courtesy of American Society for Microbiology (ASM)

RESOURCES