ANTIBIOTIC-RESISTANCE IN ACINETOBACTER SPP. ISOLATED FROM SEWERS RECEIVING WASTE EFFLUENT FROM A HOSPITAL AND A PHARMACEUTICAL PLANT

The possible increase of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in sewage assoc iated with the discharge of wastewater from a hospital and a pharmaceu tical plant was investigated by using Acinetobacter species as environ mental bacterial indicators. The level of susceptibility to six antimi crobial agents was determined in 385 Acinetobacter strains isolated fr om samples collected upstream and downstream from the discharge points of the hospital and the pharmaceutical plant. Results indicated that while the hospital waste effluent affected only the prevalence of oxyt etracycline resistance, the discharge of wastewater from the pharmaceu tical plant was associated with an increase in the prevalence of both single- and multiple-antibiotic resistance among Acinetobacter species in the sewers.