A note on antibiotic resistance in the bacterial flora of raw sewage and sewage‐polluted River Tigris in Mosul, Iraq

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Abstract
Polluted water samples collected from the Tigris River in the vicinity of a raw sewage outfall were examined for the incidence of antibiotic resistance among coliform bacteria on 3 occasions during 1983. Eighty percent or more of the coliform bacteria were resistant to 1 or more antibiotics. At the same time, raw sewage samples were examined of the incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria and Escherichia coil, Pseudomanas sp. and Staphylococcus spp. were selected for sensitivity testing. Collectively, > 90% of the 480 strains of the 3 organisms were resistant to one or more antibiotics. The minimal inhibitory concentration of ampicillin for 29 strains including coliforms, E. coli, Klebsiella sp., Serratia sp., P. aeruginosa, Pseudomonas sp., Micrococcus sp., Staphylococcus aureus, Streptococcus faecalis and Bacillus sp. from raw sewage and polluted Tigris River water was determined and that for P. aeruginosa was 250 .mu.g ml. The high incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria in natural waters could be related to the widespread use of antibiotics in this locality.