Abstract
Several differences concerning bacterial species, opportunistic pathogens, elements of the resistome as well as variations concerning the CFU/mL counts were identified in some of the five most marketed bottled mineral water from Araraquara city, São Paulo, Brazil. Two out of five brands tested were confirmed as potential source of opportunistic pathogens, including Mycobacterium gordonae, Ralstonia picketti and Burkholderia cepacia complex (Bcc). A total of one hundred and six isolates were recovered from four of these bottled mineral water brands. Betaproteobacteria was predominant followed by Alphaproteobacteria, Gammaproteobacteria and Firmicutes. Ninety percent of the bacteria isolated demonstrated resistance to seventeen of the nineteen antimicrobials tested. These antimicrobials included eight different classes, including 3rd and 4th generation cephalosporins, carbapenems and fluoroquinolones. Multidrug resistant bacteria were detected for fifty-nine percent of isolates in three water brands at counts up to 103 CFU/ml. Of major concern, the two bottled mineral water harboring opportunistic pathogens were also source of elements of the resistome that could be directly transferred to humans. All these differences found among brands highlight the need for continuous bacteriological surveillance of bottled mineral water.
Highlights
Sales of mineral water have been increasing around the world, possibly because of the decreased safety of some tap water for consumption [1]
The total cultivable bacteria found in each brand differs in taxa and abundance The colony forming units (CFU) counts for the 5 brands of mineral water were performed at 48 h as described in Materials and Methods (Table 1)
The CFU/ml values were significantly higher on R2A and on Pseudomonas isolation agar (PIA) plates without antibiotics than on the same medium supplemented with amoxicillin or ciprofloxacin (P
Summary
Sales of mineral water have been increasing around the world, possibly because of the decreased safety of some tap water for consumption [1]. Spring waters typically contain a characteristic natural bacterial flora [2], [3]. Natural mineral water may not be subjected to any disinfection treatment [4]. Bottled mineral waters are not sterile environments, but PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0121284. Resistome and Pathogens in Mineral Water and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript Bottled mineral waters are not sterile environments, but PLOS ONE | DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0121284 March 24, 2015
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