Susceptibility Survey of Escherichia coli from Water Samples of Southwest Michigan
Abstract
In an era in which public health and safety remain grave concerns, research is
increasing in the area of microbial virulence and antibiotic resistance. A main
concern is the presence of antibiotic resistant bacteria and how it may affect
human health. Previous research has suggested that a link exists between
antimicrobial resistance and antimicrobial use in animal feeds. Escherichia coli
(E. coli) is used as an indicator for water quality and is a common cause of
infection among humans. Therefore, we isolated and conducted a susceptibility
survey of E. coli from water samples in West Michigan. For this study, we
selected a panel of antibiotics that would show the presence of each resistance
factor known to exist in E. coli. Environmental isolates were compared to
susceptibilities of human clinical isolates collected from Bronson Methodist
Hospital patients in 2000 to develop a stronger understanding of the organism
and its virulence.
Hypotheses: We suspected resistance would be found more prominently near
agricultural sites than non-agricultural sites. We also suspected that the
environmental isolates would show similar findings among human clinical
isolates. In addition, resistant isolates would carry multiple resistant factors
and be cross resistant to unrelated antibiotic types.