15. ENUMERATION AND GENE IDENTIFICATION OF EXTENDED-SPECTRUM-BETA-LACTAMASE-PRODUCING ENTEROBACTERIACEAE FROM IMPACTED URBAN STREAMS IN HALL COUNTY, GEORGIA, USA.

Abstract

Extended-spectrum beta-lactamases (ESBLs) are a group of enzymes shown to rapidly evolve and confer resistance to a number of antibiotics, including beta lactams. Organisms that produce ESBLs pose both threats and challenges in the administration of appropriate agents to treat infections. ESBLs exhibit antibiotic resistance by destructing the antibiotics’ structure and are typically found encoded on bacterial plasmids that can easily be transferred between bacteria from the family Enterobacteriaceae. Water environments such as streams can help the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria which can originate from a variety of sources, including wastewater treatment plants, agricultural sources, and residential septic tank systems. An ongoing study is currently looking into the isolation and identification of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae from efferent and afferent water samples obtained from Flat Creek Water Reclamation, located in Hall County, Georgia. In this paper, we carried out enumeration of ESBL-producing bacteria from water samples obtained immediately upstream and downstream from the Flat Creek Water Reclamation facility and compare those samples with quality control performance standards. Surface water samples were obtained and ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae were isolated from both pre-treated water obtained within Flat Creek Water Reclamation and from downstream water samples, including ESBL-producing Escherichia coli and Klebsiella pneumoniae. Coliforms were found both upstream and downstream from the water treatment facility.