Abstract Description

Campylobacter spp. are a less common cause of waterborne outbreaks, however, dangerous sequelae, such as Guillaine-Barré syndrome, are associated with it, making its surveillance imperative for its improved control and management. Water polluted with sewage, industrial pollution, and plastic waste pose significant and increased risk to communities. The Hennops river, situated in Gauteng, South Africa, is a reservoir of such risk factors and, exacerbated by its seasonal flooding, can expose people to waterborne pathogens. This study focused on seasonally monitoring this river for the prevalence of Campylobacter spp., and other bacterial pathogens through isolation, detection and validating their relative antibiotic resistance patterns. Isolation methods targeted Campylobacter spp., Escherichia coli, and heterotrophic aerobes, respectively. Isolates were then identified by 16S sequencing. A high bacterial load (average 4,6x10^6 cfu/ml) and diversity (32 identified species) was noted. The Campylobacter-specific isolation method’s specificity was low (7%), while 60% of isolates belonged to the Enterobacteriaceae family. Of the tested Enterobacteriaceae, 75% were resistant to ampicillin, 65% were resistant to ciprofloxacin and 55% contained β-lactamases making them resistant to third generation cephalosporins. Two of the Klebsiella pneumoniae isolates showed resistance to carbapenems, while the Campylobacter jejuni isolate required increased exposure to ciprofloxacin. This could be due to gyrA mutations or the presence of an efflux pump. Acinetobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Aeromonas and Enterococcus were other human pathogens identified in this river. Consequently, this river is a public health hazard as it harbours bacterial pathogens and antibiotic resistance genes. As the health of humans is intimately connected to that of their environment, intervention to improve the quality of the river water is urgently needed to prevent disease outbreaks.