Sher Min Mak

• Bsc (Hons) Biomedical Sciences (NUMed 2 +1)
• Screening, isolation and identification of antibiotic-resistant coliform bacteria from suburban river water

Antibiotic resistance among bacterial species are emerging at an alarming rate and are responsible for many serious hospital-acquired infections worldwide. It is thought that aquatic environments serve critical role for spread of antibiotic resistance, introducing enormous threats on global health. In particularly, ESBLs-producing and carbapenem-resistant Enterobacteriaceae (CRE) are both important source of concern as these bacteria are multidrug-resistant and can render treatments using many antibiotics ineffective. This study was aimed to screen for presence of ESBLs-producing and carbapenem-resistant coliforms in Malaysia suburban river water and also to confirm their identity based on 16S-rRNA sequencing. The study revealed that ESBLs-producing coliforms were presence in greater abundance than carbapenem-resistant coliforms in suburban river water. Coliform bacteria in river water more commonly develop resistance towards ampicillin and cefotaxime antibiotics than towards carbapenem, the last resort of antibiotics. Apart from coliform bacteria, other species of antibiotic-resistant bacteria were also detected in suburban river water.

Funding source: NUMed Malaysia

Project Supervisor: Dr. Jeyanthy Eswaran