Anthropogenic impact and antibiotic resistance among the indicator and pathogenic bacteria from several industrial and sewage discharge points along the coast from Pydibhimavaram to Tuni, East Coast of India

• Published in: Environmental monitoring and assessment Vol. 195; no. 5; p. 546
• Main Authors: Behera, Swarnaprava, Tanuku, Naga Radha Srinivas, Moturi, Sri Rama Krishna, Gudapati, Geethika, Tadi, Satyanarayana Reddy, Modali, Sravani
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.05.2023; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Aeromonas hydrophila; Anthropogenic Effects; Anthropogenic factors; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Atmospheric Protection/Air Quality Control/Air Pollution; Bacteria; Chlorophyll; Chlorophyll a; Cholera; Coastal ecology; Coastal waters; Coasts; Discharge; Disease resistance; Dissolved oxygen; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Microbial; E coli; Earth and Environmental Science; Ecology; Ecotoxicology; Enterococcus faecalis; Environment; Environmental Management; Environmental Monitoring; Environmental science; Escherichia coli; Fluorescence; Harbors; Harbours; Household wastes; Human influences; Industrial wastes; Industrial wastewater; Industrialization; Iron and steel plants; Klebsiella; Klebsiella pneumoniae; Monitoring/Environmental Analysis; Nutrients; Oxygen; Pathogenic bacteria; Physicochemical processes; Physicochemical properties; Proteus mirabilis; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Salinity; Salmonella; Sewage; Shigella; Subsurface water; Suspended matter; Urbanization; Vibrio cholerae; Vibrio parahaemolyticus; Wastewater; Wastewater discharges; Water; Water analysis; Water sampling; Waterborne diseases; Inhibition zone; Effluent discharge; AR index; Multi-drug resistance; MAR index; Faecal pollution
• ISSN: 0167-6369; 1573-2959
• DOI: 10.1007/s10661-023-11083-2

Increasing urbanisation and industrialisation of the Visakhapatnam region have brought domestic sewage and industrial wastewater discharge into the coastal ocean. This study examines the indicator and pathogenic bacteria’s quantitative abundance and antibiotic susceptibility. This study collected surface and subsurface water samples from ten different regions (147 stations; 294 samples), including 12 industrial discharge points, surrounding stations and two harbours from the coast of Pydibheemavaram to Tuni. Physicochemical parameters like salinity, temperature, fluorescence, pH, total suspended matter, nutrients, chlorophyll- a and dissolved oxygen showed a difference between regions. We noticed the presence of indicator ( Escherichia coli and Enterococcus faecalis ) and pathogenic ( Aeromonas hydrophila , Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis , Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Salmonella and Shigella , Vibrio cholera and Vibrio parahaemolyticus ) bacteria among the samples. Waters from the near harbour and Visakhapatnam steel plant showed lower bacterial load with no direct input from industries to the coastal water. Samples collected during the industrial discharge period had a higher bacterial load, including E. coli . Enteric bacteria were found in higher numbers at most stations. Some isolates were resistant to multiple antibiotics with higher antibiotic resistance and multiple antibiotic resistance indexes compared with the other coastal water habitats in the Bay of Bengal. The occurrence of these bacteria above the standard limits and with multiple antibiotic resistance in the study region may pose a potential threat to the local inhabitants. It can create an alarming situation in the coastal waters in the study region.