Thesis (MTech (Biomedical Sciences))--Cape Peninsula University of Technology, 2015. / Wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) are designed to remove/decrease conventional pollution parameters from the wastewater influent, so that the final effluent (run off) does not compromise the receiving surface water source. However, as hospital and clinical effluent may form part of the initial influent at a WWTP, bacteria may be exposed to various antibiotics or pharmaceuticals throughout the various stages of primary, secondary and tertiary processes utilised to remove or reduce the level of pollutants. Numerous studies have then indicated that WWTPs have become potential reservoirs for antibiotic resistant bacteria (ARB) and due to ineffective treatment practices, antibiotics are being released into the environment. Consequently, research has shown that relatively low concentrations of these compounds still promotes the development of bacterial resistance, which potentiates the rapid spread of ARB in the environment. The primary aim of this study was thus to identify and trace the antibiotic resistant strains of Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus), Escherichia coli (E. coli) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (K. pneumoniae) throughout the Stellenbosch WWTP. This was done in order to determine the persistance of the ARB organisms at the various stages of treatment and to ascertain which identification and antibiotic resistance detection methods are ideal for the routine application and detection of these organisms. / National Research Foundation
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:netd.ac.za/oai:union.ndltd.org:cput/oai:localhost:20.500.11838/2237 |
| Date | January 2015 |
| Creators | Yakobi, Sinethemba Hopewell |
| Contributors | Khan, Sehaam, Khan, Wesaal, Cape Peninsula University of Technology. Faculty of Health and Wellness Sciences. Department of Biomedical Sciences. |
| Publisher | Cape Peninsula University of Technology |
| Source Sets | South African National ETD Portal |
| Language | en_ZA |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Rights | http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/3.0/za/ |
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