Water Used in Street Food Stalls: A Possible Source of Transmission of Antibiotic Resistance Bacteria

Abstract

Street foods, namely fuska, chotpoti, shamucha, fruit juices, and tea, are quite popular everywhere in Bangladesh. Though in some cases the overall environment of these street food shops looks unhygienic, people consume them anyway, overlooking this fact and the health risk Therefore, this study was intended to explore the microbiological quality of the dishwashing water used by the street food vendors to wash their food serving dishes, plates, cups, and other utensils. In addition, their association with the development of antibiotic resistance was explored. Results showed that the presence of E. coli and Pseudomonas is at a high percentage, and a non-deniable percentage of Salmonella spp. and Klebsiella spp. were found as well. Antibiotic resistance results revealed that the identified bacteria are capable of developing resistance to many commonly used antibiotics like ampicillin, ciprofloxacin, tetracycline, cefoxitin, cefuroxime. From the sensitivity test report, it is clear that people are at risk of transmission of these antibiotic-resistant bacteria through the regular consumption of street foods from these kinds of food stalls.