Antimicrobial resistant enteric bacteria are widely distributed among environmental water sources in Dhaka, Bangladesh

Disposal of antibiotics and antimicrobial-resistant enteric bacteria (ARB) into water from various sources is responsible for maintaining ARB in the environment. Relative prevalence and circulation of ARB may vary across water sources. We hypothesized that these ARBs with different resistance genes are distributed in various freshwater sources and are related to each other. We screened 155 enteric bacterial isolates from eight different water sources in Dhaka. The prevalence of ARB and MDR enteric bacteria in water was significantly associated (p value < 0.05) with the sources. The genotypic analysis of blaTEM, qnrB, tetA, mcr-1, and sul-1 revealed higher similarity of the isolates from freshwater with previously reported isolates from clinical samples. Water sources with direct exposure to antibiotics had a significantly higher frequency of genotypic and phenotypic resistance. This study calls for continuous monitoring of water sources and strengthening the treatment of antibiotic and ARB-containing effluents in Bangladesh.