ANTIBIOTIC RESISTANCE PROFILE OF GRAM-NEGATIVE BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM HOSPITAL WASTEWATER OBTAINED FROM STANDARD HOSPITAL AND DIAGNOSTIC SERVICES, MINNA

Hospital wastewater consists of contaminants and pathogens that are excreted from human bodies through urine and feces and often end up in sewage systems, which remain the major path for these contaminants to enter municipal sewage systems. Antibiotic resistance is one of the greatest worldwide challenges to modern medicine, and society at large, and one of the least appreciated by practitioners and the lay community. The aim of the study was to determine the antibiotic resistance profile of Gram negative bacteria isolated from hospital wastewater obtained from Standard Hospital and Diagnostic Services, Minna. Five water samples were obtained from five different drainage at Standard Hospital and Diagnostic Services. The samples were serially diluted and inoculated via pour plate method on Macconkey, incubated at 37 °C for 24hrs. The bacterial isolate obtained were identified by Gram reaction as well as their reaction to different biochemical tests. Antibiotic susceptibility test was carried out using the disk diffusion method. The results showed that sample C (40 x 103) had the highest microbial count while sample D (1x 103) had the lowest microbial count. Various bacterial pathogens that were identified include: Salmonella species (61.5%) having the highest frequency of occurrence. Pseudomonas species, Klebsiella pneumoniae and Enterobacter species (37.5%) whose frequency of occurrence were the lowest. The antibiotic susceptibility test showed that all bacterial isolates were multidrug resistant, and this is a great concern to both the healthcare workers and the patients as it poses a great threat to their lives. Therefore, there is the need for strict measures to fight against the infections associated with drug resistant bacteria around the hospital settings by ensuring proper sanitation and disinfection of hospital environment.