article · UMYU Scientifica
An examination of 50 hospital sewage samples collected at the Federal Teaching Hospital Gombe in Nigeria assessed the presence and genetic characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species. Phenotypic analysis identified Staphylococcus aureus as the dominant species, present in 52 percent of the samples, while coagulase-negative staphylococci appeared in 14 percent, and 34 percent yielded no bacterial growth. Methicillin-susceptible strains formed the majority within both groups, representing 69.3 percent of Staphylococcus aureus isolates and 71.5 percent of coagulase-negative isolates. However, methicillin-resistant strains were also confirmed. Molecular screening of the resistant isolates revealed that the mecC gene occurred in 100 percent of cases, whereas the mecA gene was found in 75 percent. This represents the first Nigerian report of mecC dominance over mecA in hospital sewage, demonstrating that hospital wastewater serves as an environmental reservoir for these resistant pathogens.
Methicillin-resistant staphylococci pose severe public health risks, causing ailments ranging from superficial skin infections to severe systemic conditions. The presence of these pathogens in untreated or discharged hospital effluent threatens surrounding environments. Furthermore, the local predominance of the mecC resistance determinant over the globally common mecA gene demonstrates that surveillance and detection programmes must account for regional variations in bacterial resistance genetics.
This work represents early-stage surveillance research rather than a developed commercial technology. The abstract does not indicate an immediate application pathway, but the findings could inform diagnostic assay developers, hospital waste managers, and environmental regulators seeking to tailor molecular screening tools and wastewater sanitation procedures to monitor and neutralise mecC-driven antimicrobial resistance.
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Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus is one of the pathogenic microorganisms found in hospital sewage. It can cause problems for public health by causing diseases ranging from skin infections to severe adverse conditions. This study investigated the prevalence and characteristics of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus species in sewage at Federal Teaching Hospital, Gombe. Phenotypic and molecular analyses of sewage samples were performed to determine the most prevalent serotype and detect resistance genes. Phenotypic analysis of 50 sewage samples revealed Staphylococcus aureus as the predominant species, with a prevalence of 52% in the sewage. Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CoNS) occurred in 7 samples (14%), while 17 samples (34%) showed no growth. Among S. aureus isolates, methicillin-susceptible S. aureus (MSSA) and methicillin-resistant S. aureus (MRSA) had prevalent of 69.3% and 30.7% respectively. Similarly, among the CoNS, methicillin-susceptible CoNS (MS-CoNS) were more common, with a prevalence of 71.5%, compared with 28.5% for methicillin-resistant CoNS (MR-CoNS). In molecular detection of resistance genes, mecC was detected in 100% of methicillin-resistant isolates (n=10), while mecA was detected in only 75% of methicillin-resistant isolates. This study was the first Nigerian study to report mecC dominance in hospital sewage, contradicting the global mecA prevalence. These findings suggest a significant presence of Staphylococcus species, particularly MSSA, in hospital sewage, and highlight the prevalence of mecC as a key resistance determinant in this environment.
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DOI: 10.56919/usci.2543.039
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