Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, Natural Resources and the Environment, P.O. Box 395, Pretoria 0001, South Africa.
Antimicrobial Research Unit, College of Health Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X54001, Durban 4000, South Africa.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 May 1;15(5):892. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15050892.
Although many developing countries use harvested rainwater (HRW) for drinking and other household purposes, its quality is seldom monitored. Continuous assessment of the microbial quality of HRW would ensure the safety of users of such water. The current study investigated the prevalence of pathogenic strains and their antimicrobial resistance patterns in HRW tanks in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Rainwater samples were collected weekly between June and September 2016 from 11 tanks in various areas of the province. Enumeration of was performed using the Colilert18/Quanti-Tray 2000 method. isolates were obtained and screened for their virulence potentials using polymerase chain reaction (PCR), and subsequently tested for antibiotic resistance using the disc-diffusion method against 11 antibiotics. The pathotype most detected was the neonatal meningitis (NMEC) ( 28%) while pathotype enteroaggregative (EAEC) was not detected. The highest resistance of the isolates was observed against Cephalothin (76%). All tested pathotypes were susceptible to Gentamicin, and 52% demonstrated multiple-antibiotic resistance (MAR). The results of the current study are of public health concern since the use of untreated harvested rainwater for potable purposes may pose a risk of transmission of pathogenic and antimicrobial-resistant
尽管许多发展中国家将采集的雨水（HRW）用于饮用水和其他家庭用途，但很少对其质量进行监测。持续评估 HRW 的微生物质量将确保此类水的使用者的安全。本研究调查了南非东开普省 HRW 水箱中致病性菌株的流行情况及其抗生素耐药模式。2016 年 6 月至 9 月期间，每周从该省各个地区的 11 个水箱中采集雨水样本。使用 Colilert18/Quanti-Tray 2000 方法对进行计数。获得并使用聚合酶链反应（PCR）筛选分离株的毒力潜能，然后使用纸片扩散法针对 11 种抗生素测试抗生素耐药性。检测到的最多的病原型是新生儿脑膜炎（NMEC）（28%），而未检测到肠聚集性（EAEC）病原型。分离株的最高耐药性是头孢噻吩（76%）。所有测试的病原型对庆大霉素均敏感，52%表现出多药耐药性（MAR）。由于将未经处理的采集雨水用于饮用水目的可能会带来传播致病性和抗药性的风险，因此本研究的结果引起了公众健康的关注。
