Comprehensive Genomic Survey of Antimicrobial-Resistance Bacteria in the Sewage Tank Replacement with Hospital Relocation

Miwa Katagiri; Makoto Kuroda; Tsuyoshi Sekizuka; Norihide Nakada; Yukitaka Ito; Masanobu Otsuka; Manabu Watanabe; Shinya Kusachi

doi:10.2147/IDR.S336418

Comprehensive Genomic Survey of Antimicrobial-Resistance Bacteria in the Sewage Tank Replacement with Hospital Relocation

Infect Drug Resist. 2021 Dec 20:14:5563-5574. doi: 10.2147/IDR.S336418. eCollection 2021.

Authors

Miwa Katagiri^{1

2}, Makoto Kuroda², Tsuyoshi Sekizuka², Norihide Nakada³, Yukitaka Ito⁴, Masanobu Otsuka⁴, Manabu Watanabe¹, Shinya Kusachi¹

Affiliations

¹ Department of Surgery, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
² Laboratory of Bacterial Genomics, Pathogen Genomics Center, National Institute of Infectious Diseases, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo, Japan.
³ Research Center for Environmental Quality Management, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University, Otsu-shi, Shiga, Japan.
⁴ Division of Clinical Microbiology Laboratory, Toho University Ohashi Medical Center, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, Japan.

Abstract

Background: Excrement containing antimicrobial-resistant bacteria (ARB) is discharged from the hospital sewage through wastewater treatment plants (WWTP) into rivers, increasing the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) burden on the environment.

Purpose: We illustrate the contamination of hospital sewage tanks with ARB harboring antimicrobial resistance genes (ARGs) using comprehensive metagenomic sequencing. During the study period, we moved to a new hospital building constructed for renovation. Therefore, we investigated the difference in bacterial flora in the sewage tanks for each building with different departments, and the change in bacterial flora over time in new sewage tanks. Furthermore, we performed a comparative genome analysis of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)-producing organisms (EPOs) from hospital sewage and clinical samples. Residual antibiotics in the sewage tank were also measured.

Methods: Metagenomic analysis was performed on the hospital sewage samples, followed by whole genome sequencing of EPOs.

Results: The bacterial composition of new sewage tanks was comparable with that of old tanks within 1 month after relocation and was instantly affected by excrement. The bacterial composition of sewage tanks in the old and new buildings, containing rooms where seriously ill patients were treated, was similar. Selection on CHROMagar ESBL allowed detection of EPOs harboring bla _CTX-M and carbapenemase genes in all sewage tanks. One of the sewage Escherichia coli strain comprising ST393 harboring bla _CTX-M-27 corresponded to the clinical isolates based on core genome analysis. Moreover, the levels of levofloxacin and clarithromycin in the hospital sewage were 0.0325 and 0.0135 µg/mL, respectively.

Conclusion: Hospital sewage was contaminated with many ARB species, ARGs and residual antibiotics, which can cause a burden on WWTP sewage treatment. The bacterial flora in the sewage tank was rapidly affected, especially by the ward with seriously ill patients. AMR monitoring of hospital sewage may help detect carriers prior to nosocomial ARB-associated outbreaks and control the outbreaks.

Keywords: antimicrobial resistance; antimicrobial resistance gene; hospital sewage; metagenome analysis; residual antimicrobial reagents; whole genome sequencing.