Gert van der Hoek
In Memoriam - Editor, Senior Moderator
Volume 18, Number 6?June 2012
Letter
ESBL-Positive Enterobacteria Isolates in Drinking Water
To the Editor: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)?producing members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (enterobacteria) are a worldwide problem (1), but little data are available from central Africa (2).
In recent years, ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates have shifted from the hospital to the community and the environment (1).
The aim of this study was to assess the presence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates in sachet-packaged water bags sold as drinking water in the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
.....
Kinshasa is the second-largest city in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2008, of its estimated 8.7 million inhabitants, only 46% had access to safe drinking water, and 23% had access to improved sanitation facilities according to the World Bank.
Opportunistic pathogens in drinking water and poor sanitary conditions may increase the risk of developing infectious enterocolitis for consumers, especially for those who are immunocompromised. It can eventually lead to chronic intestinal carriage of multidrug-resistant organisms.
The presence of ESBL producers in the intestinal flora could also lead to horizontal transfer of drug resistance genes from commensal flora to enteric pathogens.
This emergence of ESBL-producing bacteria and further community-associated infections poses a public threat, especially in low-resource countries where surveillance is suboptimal and empiric treatment of invasive infections often includes third-generation cephalosporins.
Letter
ESBL-Positive Enterobacteria Isolates in Drinking Water
To the Editor: Extended-spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL)?producing members of the family Enterobacteriaceae (enterobacteria) are a worldwide problem (1), but little data are available from central Africa (2).
In recent years, ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates have shifted from the hospital to the community and the environment (1).
The aim of this study was to assess the presence of ESBL-producing Enterobacteriaceae isolates in sachet-packaged water bags sold as drinking water in the streets of Kinshasa, the capital of Democratic Republic of the Congo.
.....
Kinshasa is the second-largest city in sub-Saharan Africa. In 2008, of its estimated 8.7 million inhabitants, only 46% had access to safe drinking water, and 23% had access to improved sanitation facilities according to the World Bank.
Opportunistic pathogens in drinking water and poor sanitary conditions may increase the risk of developing infectious enterocolitis for consumers, especially for those who are immunocompromised. It can eventually lead to chronic intestinal carriage of multidrug-resistant organisms.
The presence of ESBL producers in the intestinal flora could also lead to horizontal transfer of drug resistance genes from commensal flora to enteric pathogens.
This emergence of ESBL-producing bacteria and further community-associated infections poses a public threat, especially in low-resource countries where surveillance is suboptimal and empiric treatment of invasive infections often includes third-generation cephalosporins.