Microbiological Air Quality and Drug Resistance in Airborne Bacteria Isolated from a Waste Sorting Plant Located in Poland―A Case Study

Abstract

International interests in biological air pollutants have increased rapidly to broaden the pool of knowledge on their identification and health impacts (e.g., infectious, respiratory diseases and allergies). Antibiotic resistance and its wider implications present us with a growing healthcare crisis, and an increased understanding of antibiotic-resistant bacteria populations should enable better interpretation of bioaerosol exposure found in the air. Waste sorting plant (WSP) activities are a source of occupational bacterial exposures that are associated with many health disorders. The objectives of this study were (a) to assess bacterial air quality (BAQ) in two cabins of a WSP: preliminary manual sorting cabin (PSP) and purification manual sorting cabin (quality control) (QCSP), (b) determine the particle size distribution (PSD) of bacterial aerosol (BA) in PSP, QCSP, and in the outdoor air (OUT), and (c) determine the antibiotic resistance of isolated strains of bacteria. Bacterial strains were identified on a Biolog GEN III (Biolog, Hayward, CA, USA), and disc diffusion method for antimicrobial susceptibility testing was carried out according to the Kirby–Bauer Disk Diffusion Susceptibility Test Protocol. A large share of fecal bacteria, Enterococcus faecalis and Alcaligenes faecalis spp. feacalis, was found in the tested indoor air, which is a potential health hazard to the workers of the monitored WSP. Our results demonstrate the necessity to take into account fecal air pollution levels to avoid making erroneous assumptions regarding the environmental selection of antibiotic resistance. Total elimination of many anthropogenic sources is not possible, but important findings of this study can be used to develop realistic management policies methods to improve BAQ.