Fatemeh Karimi
1, Mohammad Reza Samarghandi
1, Reza Shokoohi
1, Kazem Godini
1, Mohammad Reza Arabestani
2*1 Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IR Iran
2 Department of Microbiology, School of Medicine, Brucellosis Research Center, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IR Iran
*Corresponding Author: * Corresponding author: Mohammad Reza Arabestani, Brucellosis Research Center, Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, Hamadan University of Medical Sciences, Hamadan, IR Iran. Tel: +98-9188662009, Fax: +98-8118380762, Email:
mohammad.arabestani@gmail.com
Abstract
Simultaneous presence of various antibiotics and bacteria in hospital wastewaters creates a suitable environment, in which the
bacteria, such as enterococci become resistant to the antibiotics. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of different
units of the hospital wastewater treatment plant (HWTP) to remove Enterococcus spp and Vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus
(VRE). The study was performed on the 27 samples collected from HWTP in Hamedan, Iran during December 2014 to August 2015.
Enterococcus spp and VRE were identified by biochemical tests and then the isolates were confirmed by PCR. Finally, the antibiotic
susceptibility test was performed using disk diffusion methods. Of the 27 samples examined, 315 a total of enterococcal isolates were
obtained. Of the 315 isolates of enterococci investigated, 162 (51.42%) were identified as E. faecium, 87 (27.61%) as E. hirae, 35 (11.11%) as
E. faecalis, 11 (3.5%) as E. gallinarum, 7 (2.22%) as E. casseliflavus, 4 (1.26%) E. avium, and 9 (2.85%) isolates VR E. faecium.The results of
antibiotic susceptibility testing showed that of the total 315 isolates, 146 (46.34%) were resistance to tetracycline, 9 (2.85%) were resistance
to vancomycin and Teicoplanin. Lower antibiotic resistance was seen with Nitrofurantoin 2 (1.26%). This study indicates a
high prevalence of multidrug resistance among E. faecium isolated from HWTP, thus, it could be considered as a threat to the health
and safety of wastewater workers and even public health.