Enteropathogenic Escherichia coli in a treated effluent from Puebla City-Mexico, resistant to antibiotics and heavy metals

The Atoyac river in the City of Puebla has become a receptor for industrial and domestic discharges, with microbial load being one of the most persistent pollutants even after treatment. Microbial load is an important factor for public health since pathogenic bacteria cause infectious diseases with different levels of severity. Chemical contaminants such as heavy metals and antibiotics are the cause of anthropogenic activities and their indiscriminate use. Because this river is a receptor for these pollutants, the objective of this study was to identify the presence of enteropathogenic E. coli (EPEC) and determine its resistance to antibiotics and heavy metals. 113 strains of E. coli isolated from the Atoyac river wastewater were characterized using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) technique, as well as their resistance to 12 antibiotics, as well as their resistance to Co, Mo, Fe. , Cu and Pb. The results showed that 85% of the strains belong to the EPEC pathotype, 77% (87/113) presented resistance to at least 1 type of antibiotic, only 24% had multi-resistance and all the strains had resistance to Mo and Fe, for Co and Cu they only presented medium resistance, before Pb only 5.3% (6/113) of the total of the strains presented resistance and 69% (78/113) presented only medium resistance. The results obtained reveal the presence of EPEC, a causal etiologic agent for diarrheal outbreaks capable of surviving and having resistance to antibiotics and metals, a result that supports the concern to pay attention to the health of the Atoyac river wastewater to avoid future infections in communities surrounding.