Indigenous Bacteria Resistance to Heavy Metals and Antibiotics Isolated from the oued El Harrach

Abstract

The objective of the study is to investigate the resistance of indigenous bacteria of oued El Harrach to heavy metals and antibiotics. The dosage of three heavy metals lead, zinc and copper by AAS showed the presence of concentrations ranging from 0,02 to 0,07 mg/l. The water of oued El Harrach has a density of  >10⁶ UFC/ml for contamination germs (CT, CF, E. coli, Enterococci), the load of pathogens (Staphylococcus, Clostridium)  is > 10³ UFC/ml with the presence of salmonellae and vibrio. The highest minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) recorded is 900 µg/ml for the three metals. The study of antibiotic susceptibility showed a strong resistance (85% to 88%) of E. coli, Pseudomonas and Staphylococcus aureus to amoxicillin. A high sensitivity of 95% was recorded with E. coli and cefixime. The multiresistance of the bacteria to heavy metals and antibiotics suggest that industrial and urban effluents are the cause of the appearance of the resistance phenomenon inn this El Harrach river.