Investigating the resistance of soil bacteria to antibiotics in Hamadan municipal and hospital waste Land fills

Municipal and hospital waste land fills that have various contaminants, especially pharmaceuticals, provide a suitable habitat for resistant bacteria which play a special role in the transfer of resistance genes. Therefore, the abundance of microorganisms and the antibiotic resistance of bacteria in soil and leachate samples of municipal and hospital waste burial sites in Hamedan city were investigated.

The characteristics of soil and leachate as well as the abundance of their microorganisms were tested and counted. Also, the percentage of bacteria resistant to ten commonly used antibiotics ampicillin, amoxicillin, cefixime, gentamicin, streptomycin, tetracycline, doxycycline, chloramphenicol, lincomycin and metronidazole was investigated. In addition, the response of bacteria from two virgin soils and new rubbish landfill to different concentrations of three antibiotics, ampicillin, gentamicin and tetracycline, were measured.

The log of population of fungi, actinomycetes, pseudomonas, and enterobacters, was the highest in new rubbish landfill. They were 5.35, 5.28, 6.13, and 5.98 respectively. The percentage of bacteria resistant to all ten antibiotics was higher in samples of new rubbish landfill than in other locations and lower in virgin soil than in other locations. These results were also seen in the dose response of ampicillin, gentamicin and tetracycline antibiotics. The inhibitory concentrations of these antibiotics for new rubbish landfill bacteria were 1500, 1000 and 100 mg/l, respectively. But for virgin soil, they were much less (10, 18 and 50 mg/l respectively).

In general, this research showed that municipal and hospital waste landfills provide a suitable habitat for antibiotic-resistant bacteria, which may increase the transfer of resistant genes among soil native bacteria. Therefore, the bacteria that reach the soil through waste can be more harmful.