Performance evaluation of ozonation for removal of antibiotic-resistant Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa and genes from hospital wastewater

• Published in: Scientific reports Vol. 11; no. 1; pp. 24519 - 10
• Main Authors: Baghal Asghari, Farzaneh, Dehghani, Mohammad Hadi, Dehghanzadeh, Reza, Farajzadeh, Davoud, Shanehbandi, Dariush, Mahvi, Amir Hossein, Yaghmaeian, Kamyar, Rajabi, Akbar
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: London Nature Publishing Group UK 31.12.2021; Nature Publishing Group; Nature Portfolio
• Subjects: 639/638; 704/172; Anti-Bacterial Agents; Antibiotic resistance; Antibiotics; Bacteria; Disinfection; Disinfection - methods; Drug resistance; Drug Resistance, Bacterial; E coli; Escherichia coli; Escherichia coli - drug effects; Escherichia coli - genetics; Genes, Bacterial; Hospital wastes; Hospitals; Humanities and Social Sciences; Inactivation; Iran; Medical wastes; multidisciplinary; Ozonation; Ozone; Polymerase Chain Reaction; Pseudomonas aeruginosa; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - drug effects; Pseudomonas aeruginosa - genetics; RNA, Ribosomal, 16S - genetics; rRNA 16S; Science; Science (multidisciplinary); Wastewater; Wastewater - chemistry; Wastewater - microbiology; Water Purification - methods; Iran
• ISSN: 2045-2322; 2045-2322
• DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-04254-z

The performance of ozonation for the removal of antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) using Escherichia coli and Pseudomonas aeruginosa carrying ARGs from hospital wastewaters was evaluated in this study. Bacterial inactivation was determined using plate count methods and real time PCR for ARG damage ( Sul1, bla tem , bla ctx , bla vim and qnrS ). The reduction rate of bacterial cells and ARGs was increased by different amounts of transferred ozone dose from 11 to 45 mg/L. The concentration of 10 8  cfu/ml bacteria was reduced  to an acceptable level by ozone treatment after a 5 min contact time,  Although the removal rate was much higher for concentrations of 10 6  cfu/ml and 10 4  cfu/ml bacteria. Overall, the tendency of gene reduction by ozonation from more to less was 16S rRNA  >  sul1  >  bla tem  >  bla ctx  >  qnrS  >  bla vim . Given that plasmid-borne ARGs can potentially be transferred to other bacteria even after the disinfection process, our results can provide important insights into the fate of ARGs during hospital wastewater ozonation.