Occurrence and Antibiotics Resistance Signatures of Burkholderia Pseudomallei Isolated from Selected Hospital Final Effluents in Akoko Metropolis within Ondo State Nigeria

Introduction: Burkholderia pseudomallei are the causative agent for melioidosis, a disease which affects both humans and animals. This study investigated the occurrence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the final effluent of some hospitals in Akoko metropolis, Ondo State, Nigeria. Methods: Culture based approach using the Inositol Brilliant Green Bile agar for isolation Burkholderia Pseudomallei was employed. A preliminary oxidase strip test was carried out on all the isolates and they were found to be oxidase positive. Presumptive isolates were purified and confirmed using Microbact™ 24E Identification kit. Antibiotics susceptibility of the confirmed isolates was also determined using the CLSI recommended first line antibiotics for Burkholderia Pseudomallei. Results: A total number of 155 presumptive Burkholderia species were recovered from thirty six different samples over a period of three months from effluent of three selected hospitals. Moreover, 67% of the recovered isolates were confirmed to be Burkholderia pseudomallei. Most isolates were susceptible to cefotaxime and ofloxacin but exhibited resistance against tetracycline and meropenem. Conclusions: The persistence of Burkholderia pseudomallei in the hospital environment throughout the sampling regime requires intervention strategies to eradicate the prevalence of this notable pathogen in all possible reservoirs within the hospital environment. Besides, the emergence of resistance particularly to tetracycline and carbapenems points at potential public health implications. Furthermore, surveillance of Burkholderia species with its antibiogram profiles in clinical environments and adequate treatment of hospital effluents before disposal is very important to avert potential outbreak of melioidosis because the main reservoir for B. pseudomallei is contaminated environments.