Pathogenic and opportunistic gram-negative bacteria in soil, leachate and air in San Nicolás landfill at Aguascalientes, Mexico.

The occurrence of Gram-negative pathogenic and opportunistic species, was studied for two years on air. soil and leachate from the San Nicolás Landfill. Aguascalientes, Mexico. For soil and leachate four samplings were done, two during the dry season and two during the rainy season. For soil there were 15 sampling points, the leachate samples were taken on the leachate tank. For air, twelve sampling were done in three points of the landfill. Twenty pathogenic and/or opportunistic bacteria were identified from air, twenty from soil and eleven from leachate. Most of them were enteric; however respiratory tract pathogenic bacteria were also identified. Pasteurella haemolytica were isolated in all air samples. Nine species were found in the a half of the soil samples. The most frequent species in leachate were Acinetobacter baumanii, Bordetella sp, Brucella sp. and Escherichia coli var II. The occurrence of pathogenic and opportunistic species points out to the nosocomial and domestic clinical wastes discharged in the landfill as a potential risk for public and occupational health.