Non-thermal obliteration of critically ranked carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and its resistance gene in a batch atmospheric plasma reactor

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Authors

Mosaka, Thabang B.M.
Unuofin, John Onolame
Daramola, Michael Olawale
Tizaoui, Chedly
Iwarere, Samuel Ayodele

Journal Title

Journal ISSN

Volume Title

Publisher

Springer

Abstract

Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) have been implicated as direct key reservoir of both antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB) and antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs) associated with human infection, as high concentrations of ARBs and ARGs have been detected in recycled hospital wastewater. Among the ARBs, the carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii has been ranked as priority 1 (critical) pathogen by the World Health Organization (WHO), due to its overwhelming burden on public health. Therefore, this study is aimed at investigating non-thermal plasma (NTP) technology as an alternative disinfection step to inactivate this bacterium and its ARGs. Culture-based method and PCR were employed in confirming the carbapenem resistance gene blaNDM-1 in A. baumannii (BAA 1605). Suspension of carbapenem-resistant A. baumannii (24 h culture) was prepared from the confirmed isolate and subjected to plasma treatment at varying time intervals (3 min, 6 min, 9 min, 12 min, and 15 min) in triplicates. The plasma-treated samples were evaluated for re-growth and the presence of the resistance gene. The treatment resulted in a 1.13 log reduction after 3 min and the highest log reduction of ≥ 8 after 15 min, and the results also showed that NTP was able to inactivate the blaNDM-1 gene. The log reduction and gel image results suggest that plasma disinfection has a great potential to be an efficient tertiary treatment step for WWTPs.

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AVAILABILITY OF DATA AND MATERIALS : Sources of data collected have been mentioned in the text.

Keywords

Wastewater treatment plant (WWTP), Antibiotic-resistant bacteria (ARB), Antibiotic-resistant genes (ARGs), Non-thermal plasma (NTP), Acinetobacter baumannii, Carbapenem-resistant gene, Cold atmospheric plasma, Disinfection, SDG-06: Clean water and sanitation, SDG-12: Responsible consumption and production

Sustainable Development Goals

SDG-06:Clean water and sanitation
SDG-12:Responsible consumption and production

Citation

Mosaka, T.B.M., Unuofin, J.O., Daramola, M.O. et al. Non-thermal obliteration of critically ranked carbapenem-resistant Acinetobacter baumannii and its resistance gene in a batch atmospheric plasma reactor. Environmental Science and Pollution Research 31, 49811–49822 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-024-34475-4.