Antimicrobial-Resistance Pathogen Load and Public Health Risk of Drinking Water in South Gondar, Ethiopia

Abstract Objectives: This study aims to determine the contamination Antimicrobial-Resistance Pathogen load and Public Health Risk of Drinking Water in the case of Debre Tabor Town, Northwest Ethiopia.Study design and period: A laboratory-based cross-sectional study design was employed from March to May 2020.Methods: A total of 60 water samples were collected from the household tap and household drinking water storage container by following the standard microbial analysis method. Besides Sanitary survey was conducted for the municipal water supply system. Water samples were analyzed for differences in bacteriological parameters and drug-susceptibility patterns. Descriptive statistics, independent sample t-test, and multiple linear regression models were used to analyze the data.Results: The drinking water was mostly contaminated with multiple antibiotics-resistance waterborne Escherichia coli 35% (95% CI: 31.2%, 46.9%), Salmonella 22.7% (95% CI: 23.2%, 28.7%), and Shigella 15% (95% CI: 11.2%, 20.9%). Approximately 52.78% and 36.11% of the tap and an equal 23.33% of the household storage container water samples were categorized under low and intermediate risks respectively, and the overall health risk index of the water samples showed that 45.83%, 41.67%, and 12.5%, of them, are categorized under low, intermediate and high-risk classes respectively.Conclusion: The contamination of drinking water with antimicrobial-resistant waterborne bacteria in the community could indicate the likelihood of the occurrence of treatment failure and increased mortality. Hence, proper drinking water treatment and strict supervision are needed to prevent the contamination of the water and related consequences.