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Articles

CJPLS: VOL. 13, NO. 1, JUNE 2025

Isolation and characterisation of antibiotics resistant bacteria from Industrial wastewater in Choba, Port Harcourt

Submitted
April 27, 2025
Published
2025-05-01

Abstract

The widespread and indiscriminate release of inadequately treated industrial wastewater into aquatic environments poses significant threats to public health, as it contributes to antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB). The purpose of this study was to identify and characterise ARB from industrial wastewater samples to investigate their presence and assess their potential environmental and health implications. Wastewater samples were collected at the discharge point in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria. The generated wastewater comes from cleaning equipment, processing raw materials, and packaging products. Contaminants include starch, oil, grease, organic solids, and cleaning agents like detergents. The physical and chemical parameters of wastewater were analysed. The disk diffusion method was used to determine the antibiotic susceptibility of bacterial pathogen isolates, and bacteriological tests were conducted in the lab using standard protocols for aerobic bacteria.  The results revealed a pH of 8.4, temperature of 28.5°C, turbidity of 8.43 NTU, and elevated levels of total dissolved solids (147.67 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (74.4 mg/L). Microbial analysis identified nine bacterial genera, including Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Escherichia coli, Enterococcus faecalis, and Bacillus subtilis, with the bacterial isolates exhibiting varied resistance to commonly used antibiotics. Pseudomonas aeruginosa displayed the highest multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index of 0.7. Antibiotic resistance screening revealed resistance to up to seven antibiotics among Gram-negative isolates and up to four antibiotics among Gram-positive isolates. The findings highlight the potential role of industrial wastewater in harbouring antibiotic-resistant bacteria, posing risks to public health and ecosystems. This highlights the need for more effective and action-based regulations on industrial waste management to lessen the spread and prevalence of antimicrobial resistance.

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