Plastic debris facilitates the survival of multidrug-resistant bacterial pathogens in an urban agricultural environment
Michael J. Ormsby, Luke Woodford, James Joseph Mwesiga, Winnie Ernest, Dativa J. Shilla, Daniel Abel Shilla, Richard S. Quilliam
Environmental Pollution
Urban Farm DB summary
This study investigated plastic debris as a reservoir for multidrug-resistant (MDR) enteric bacterial pathogens at two peri-urban agricultural sites in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. Analysis of 140 environmental samples (soil, water, vegetation, plastic debris) showed higher concentrations of culturable pathogens on plastic debris, with presumptive E. coli loads of ~1 × 10^3 CFU per piece. Plastic debris harbored a greater proportion of MDR strains, including E. coli and K. pneumoniae resistant to critically important antimicrobials, indicating that plastic waste facilitates the survival of MDR pathogens and poses health risks.