Variations in antibiotic resistance of Aeromonas observed across Lubbock Canyon Lake system

Abstract

Aeromonas is an aquatic organism that can be found ubiquitously all over the world. While usually a pathogenic bacterium to fish and other aquatic animals, instances of human infection have been recorded. Although uncommon, Aeromonas’ ability to acquire new virulence factors, along with the increasing prevalence of antibiotic resistance, poses it as a possible future concern. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of antibiotic resistance among Aeromonas along a connecting lake system. Total numbers of Aeromonas as well as ampicillin and ciprofloxacin resistance of the bacterium were evaluated among four connecting canyon lakes in Lubbock, TX. The percent difference of antibiotic resistance was evaluated for each lake and compared, and whereas no ciprofloxacin-resistant Aeromonas colonies were observed, the percent difference in ampicillin resistance traveling down the lake system showed a strong negative correlation (R= –0.9346) for a Pearson’s Correlation Coefficient. However, this value fell below the overall critical (α=0.05, cv=0.950, df=2, 2-tailed) and cannot be considered significant. While the data show an overall increase in rates of ampicillin antibiotic resistance, decrease in percent difference, additional studies will be needed to confirm this with a larger sample size and more lakes to observe to see if a significant correlation really does exist or not.