Institute of Environmental Sciences & Engineering
Department: Prevalence of Antibacterial Resistance (ABR) in Environmental Samples Prevalence of Antibacterial Resistance (ABR) in Environmental Samples

Prevalence of Antibacterial Resistance (ABR) in Environmental Samples

Dr. Imran Hashmi

Project Description: The main objective of the study is aimed on the assessment of antibacterial resistance in water and sediment samples from Rawal and Khanpur dam and their tributaries. For this purpose, environmental sampling of these study areas has been accomplished for both winter and summer seasons. After microbial plate counts, selected bacterial strains has been isolated from water and sediments samples on which disk diffusion assay has been performed to assess their resistance against selected antibiotics. Bacteria showed different resistance patterns depending on the sampling sites. Social data has also been collected by interviewing communities residing nearby the sampling sites regarding antibiotics consumption (human and animals), self-medication practices and their knowledge about antibacterial resistance and from the surveys data, it was exhibited that people living in Rawal and Khanpur dam and vicinities have lack of awareness regarding antibiotics usage and its resistance for both human and animal consumption. Furthermore, genomic data for the ABR resistant genes in the study area is in progress and aims to exhibit the existing scenario of antibacterial resistance in the local environment and hopefully it will provide an overview of impacts of antibiotics consumption on ABR prevalence in the study area because of agricultural activities, livestock farming and aquaculture. Based on the acquired knowledge from environmental samples as well as social surveys, mitigation strategies will be suggested for reducing antibacterial resistance risk in Pakistan.

Study area:

Figure-1: Map of Rawal dam and its tributaries

Table-1: Coordinates of Rawal dam and its tributaries

Sr.no Sampling sites Sampling IDs Latitude Longitude
1 Jinnah Upstream JUS 33.76777 73.135
2 Jinnah Midstream JMS 33.75914 73.1332
3 Jinnah Downstream JDS 33.75374 73.13554
4 Shahdara Upstream SUS 33.7775 73.17055
5 Shahdara Midstream SMS 33.7447 73.16726
6 Shahdara Downstream SDS 33.7261 73.17641
7 Nurpur Upstream NUS 33.75741 73.11496
8 Nurpur Midstream NMS 33.75376 73.11196
9 Nurpur Downstream NDS 33.74395 73.11307
10 Korang River Upstream KUS 33.7463 73.19886
11 Korang River Midstream KMS 33.72102 73.16482
12 Korang River Downstream KDS 33.71974 73.14495
13 Rawal Lake Upstream RUS 33.70468 73.13041
14 Rawal Lake Midstream RMS 33.70137 73.13162
15 Rawal Lake Downstream RDS 33.69573 73.12883
16 Filtration Plant RDS 33.68723 73.12068

Figure-2: Map of Khanpur dam and its tributaries

Table-2: Coordinates of Khanpur dam and its tributaries

Sr.no Sampling sites Sampling IDs Latitude Longitude
1 Jinnah Upstream JUS 33.76777 73.135
2 Jinnah Midstream JMS 33.75914 73.1332
3 Jinnah Downstream JDS 33.75374 73.13554
4 Shahdara Upstream SUS 33.7775 73.17055
5 Shahdara Midstream SMS 33.7447 73.16726
6 Shahdara Downstream SDS 33.7261 73.17641
7 Nurpur Upstream NUS 33.75741 73.11496
8 Nurpur Midstream NMS 33.75376 73.11196
9 Nurpur Downstream NDS 33.74395 73.11307
10 Korang River Upstream KUS 33.7463 73.19886
11 Korang River Midstream KMS 33.72102 73.16482
12 Korang River Downstream KDS 33.71974 73.14495
13 Rawal Lake Upstream RUS 33.70468 73.13041
14 Rawal Lake Midstream RMS 33.70137 73.13162
15 Rawal Lake Downstream RDS 33.69573 73.12883
16 Filtration Plant RDS 33.68723 73.12068

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