Environmental Surveillance of Antibiotic‐Resistant Pathogens in Hospital Wastewater of Bangladesh

ABSTRACT The purpose of the research was to assess the diversity of antimicrobial resistance in hospital wastewater of Bangladesh. The bacterial strains were confirmed by 16s rDNA gene sequence analysis, where the isolates belong to Enterobacter cloacae , Raoultella terrigena , Aeromonas hydrophila and Aeromonas dhakensis . The isolates were used to test the antibiotic susceptibility, and all strains showed multidrug resistance. Out of all isolated bacterial strains, 96% of them had resistance to metronidazole, 95% to ampicillin, 86% to sulphamethoxazole, 84% to moxifloxacin and cephalexin, 80% to erythromycin, 74% to co‐trimoxazole, 55% to streptomycin and kanamycin and 53% to azithromycin. The MAR index ranged from 0.21 to 0.86 across all sites, indicating a high risk of antibiotic pollution in the sampling sources. This study highlights the alarming state of antibiotic resistance in two districts of Bangladesh, emphasizing the need for strict controls on hospital effluents, urban water treatment and antibiotic use to prevent public health impacts.