Open AccessDiarrheal bacterial pathogens and multi-resistant enterobacteria in the Choqueyapu River in La Paz, Bolivia
Author(s) -
Jessica Guzman-Otazo,
Lucia Gonzales-Silès,
Violeta Poma,
Johan BengtssonPalme,
Kaisa Thorell,
Carl-Fredrik Flach,
Volga Iñiguez,
Åsa Sjöling
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
plos one
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.99
H-Index - 332
ISSN - 1932-6203
DOI - 10.1371/journal.pone.0210735
Subject(s) - salmonella enterica , biology , enterotoxigenic escherichia coli , microbiology and biotechnology , shigella , enterobacter cloacae , salmonella , antibiotic resistance , sewage , veterinary medicine , waterborne diseases , escherichia coli , klebsiella pneumoniae , bacteria , antibiotics , outbreak , enterotoxin , gene , virology , environmental science , environmental engineering , medicine , biochemistry , genetics
Water borne diarrheal pathogens might accumulate in river water and cause contamination of drinking and irrigation water. The La Paz River basin, including the Choqueyapu River, flows through La Paz city in Bolivia where it is receiving sewage, and residues from inhabitants, hospitals, and industry. Using quantitative real-time PCR (qPCR), we determined the quantity and occurrence of diarrheagenic Escherichia coli (DEC), Salmonella enterica , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Shigella spp . and total enterobacteria in river water, downstream agricultural soil, and irrigated crops, during one year of sampling. The most abundant and frequently detected genes were gapA and eltB , indicating presence of enterobacteria and enterotoxigenic E . coli (ETEC) carrying the heat labile toxin, respectively. Pathogen levels in the samples were significantly positively associated with high water conductivity and low water temperature. In addition, a set of bacterial isolates from water, soil and crops were analyzed by PCR for presence of the genes bla CTX-M , bla KPC, bla NDM , bla VIM and bla OXA-48 . Four isolates were found to be positive for bla CTX-M genes and whole genome sequencing identified them as E . coli and one Enterobacter cloacae . The E . coli isolates belonged to the emerging, globally disseminated, multi-resistant E . coli lineages ST648, ST410 and ST162. The results indicate not only a high potential risk of transmission of diarrheal diseases by the consumption of contaminated water and vegetables but also the possibility of antibiotic resistance transfer from the environment to the community.