Journal of Marine Science: Research & Development
Open Access

Abstract

As the largest city in Turkey, Istanbul?s coastal area is used, directly or indirectly, by over 12 million people for fishing, transportation and recreation; therefore, the monitoring of microbiological quality and related risk assessment is of particular significance for public health. The aim of this study to find the prevalence and isolation of fecal coliform bacteria, with an emphasis on Escherichia coli (E. coli), from the coastal region and to determine if E. coli populations are members of the seawater microbiota in Marmara Sea coastal areas and, if so, to determine their genetic heterogeneity. The prevalence of fecal coliform bacteria and Escherichia coli serotypes, assessed using the uidA gene marker, was determined in the coastal area of Istanbul. At the same time, in this study was found that the prevalence?s of antimicrobial resistance (AR) and multiple antimicrobial resistance (MAR) of Escherichia coli in the southwestern coast of Istanbul, under strong anthropogenic pressures, for a period of three years starting in January 2009 through December 2011. Analysis of uidA gene using BLAST analysis showed a temporal and spatial genetic homogeneity in E. coli marine populations. From this study we concluded that the enteric bacteria levels observed at the stations sampled, are a likely consequence of the discharge of untreated wastewater to the Ayamama Stream and Kucukcekmece Lagoon on the coastal line. Escherichia coli were tested for their susceptibility to different group of 10 antimicrobials, using the disk diffusion method. In this study, 194 strains of E. coli were isolated, in which ampicillin (74.4%) and amoxicillin (47.4%) had the highest resistance rates. Tetracycline resistance was found to be 43.3%. While 84.4% of the isolates were found to be resistant to at least one or more antibiotic, 63.4% were resistance to 2 or more, and 24.7% were resistance to 5 or more antibiotics. In addition, no resistance was detected in the antibiotic imipenem. The high density of fecal coliform bacteria and prevalence of E. coli in the area under study suggests a potential public health risk of water-borne outbreaks. As a result, the association between wrong and insufficient refinement and pollution indicator bacteria spreading throughout the environment is clear. These findings, which were obtained throughout Istanbul?s shores which are frequently used for recreation, fishing, and transport, show that public health is under the risks.

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