Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana

Antimicrobial resistance is a global health challenge caused by the ability of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protozoans and viruses to survive the effects of drugs that hitherto were effective against them. This study sought to investigate the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria an...

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Main Authors: Rosemary Agbeko, Denis W. Aheto, Daniel K.A. Asante, Noble K. Asare, Alex A. Boateng, Cynthia A. Adinortey
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2022-09-01
Series:Heliyon
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022017194
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author Rosemary Agbeko
Denis W. Aheto
Daniel K.A. Asante
Noble K. Asare
Alex A. Boateng
Cynthia A. Adinortey
author_facet Rosemary Agbeko
Denis W. Aheto
Daniel K.A. Asante
Noble K. Asare
Alex A. Boateng
Cynthia A. Adinortey
author_sort Rosemary Agbeko
collection DOAJ
description Antimicrobial resistance is a global health challenge caused by the ability of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protozoans and viruses to survive the effects of drugs that hitherto were effective against them. This study sought to investigate the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their corresponding molecular determinants in fish farms of the Central and Western Regions of Ghana. Management practices and antibiotic use at the fish farms were obtained through the administration of a questionnaire. Coliform and Gram-positive bacterial loads of catfish (Clarias gariepinus), tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) intestinal microbiota, and pond water samples recovered on MacConkey Agar and Mannitol Salt Agar were determined. Bacterial isolates were identified using various biochemical assays. Antibiotic resistance profiles and possible responsible genes of bacterial isolates were determined using the disc diffusion and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods respectively. The study revealed that none of the fish farm managers admitted using antibiotics for prevention and treatment of diseases and no major disease outbreak had ever been recorded. Bacterial loads of pond water exceeded the acceptable level of ≤100 E. coli and <10 coliforms per mL for wastewater recommended for use in fish farming. In all, 145 bacterial isolates comprising 99 Gram negative and 46 Gram-positive bacteria were stored and identified. Most isolates were resistant to at least an antibiotic. Both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria were highly resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics with a corresponding high percentage detection of the blaTEM gene compared to other classes of antibiotics. This study has revealed the presence of various molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance including blaTEM, cmIA, qnrS, tetB and blaCTX-M, in multidrug-resistant bacteria at some fish farms in Ghana. There is the need to increase awareness about risks associated with the misuse and overuse of antibiotics by humans and the potential risk of spread of multi-drug resistant-bacteria in the environment.
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spelling doaj.art-918b3549286d4e72bf71307d7f8370a82022-12-22T03:23:37ZengElsevierHeliyon2405-84402022-09-0189e10431Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of GhanaRosemary Agbeko0Denis W. Aheto1Daniel K.A. Asante2Noble K. Asare3Alex A. Boateng4Cynthia A. Adinortey5Department of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; Centre for Coastal Management (Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience), University of Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; Centre for Coastal Management (Africa Centre of Excellence in Coastal Resilience), University of Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, GhanaDepartment of Molecular Biology and Biotechnology, School of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Coast, Ghana; Corresponding author.Antimicrobial resistance is a global health challenge caused by the ability of microorganisms including bacteria, fungi, protozoans and viruses to survive the effects of drugs that hitherto were effective against them. This study sought to investigate the presence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and their corresponding molecular determinants in fish farms of the Central and Western Regions of Ghana. Management practices and antibiotic use at the fish farms were obtained through the administration of a questionnaire. Coliform and Gram-positive bacterial loads of catfish (Clarias gariepinus), tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) intestinal microbiota, and pond water samples recovered on MacConkey Agar and Mannitol Salt Agar were determined. Bacterial isolates were identified using various biochemical assays. Antibiotic resistance profiles and possible responsible genes of bacterial isolates were determined using the disc diffusion and Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) methods respectively. The study revealed that none of the fish farm managers admitted using antibiotics for prevention and treatment of diseases and no major disease outbreak had ever been recorded. Bacterial loads of pond water exceeded the acceptable level of ≤100 E. coli and <10 coliforms per mL for wastewater recommended for use in fish farming. In all, 145 bacterial isolates comprising 99 Gram negative and 46 Gram-positive bacteria were stored and identified. Most isolates were resistant to at least an antibiotic. Both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria were highly resistant to beta-lactam antibiotics with a corresponding high percentage detection of the blaTEM gene compared to other classes of antibiotics. This study has revealed the presence of various molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance including blaTEM, cmIA, qnrS, tetB and blaCTX-M, in multidrug-resistant bacteria at some fish farms in Ghana. There is the need to increase awareness about risks associated with the misuse and overuse of antibiotics by humans and the potential risk of spread of multi-drug resistant-bacteria in the environment.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022017194AntibioticsFish farmsResistance genesColiformsE. coliFish species
spellingShingle Rosemary Agbeko
Denis W. Aheto
Daniel K.A. Asante
Noble K. Asare
Alex A. Boateng
Cynthia A. Adinortey
Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana
Heliyon
Antibiotics
Fish farms
Resistance genes
Coliforms
E. coli
Fish species
title Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana
title_full Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana
title_fullStr Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana
title_full_unstemmed Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana
title_short Identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of Ghana
title_sort identification of molecular determinants of antibiotic resistance in some fish farms of ghana
topic Antibiotics
Fish farms
Resistance genes
Coliforms
E. coli
Fish species
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2405844022017194
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