Isolation of microorganisms in effluents from a public health laboratory

Abstract

The waste from health facility laboratories consists largely of liquid effluents from automatic analyzers. In practice, these effluents are typically discharged into the sewer system without any prior treatment. Automatic analyzers use disinfectants, detergents, cleaning solutions, and other reagents that may eliminate pathogenic microorganisms. As a result, they generate effluents with a high load of chemical contaminants. If discharged directly into the sewage system without prior treatment, these contaminants can be considered a point source of various residual antimicrobial compounds and other pollutants that may promote the development of antimicrobial resistance. The objective of this study is to isolate environmental microorganisms capable of growing and degrading the chemical contaminants present in effluents generated by the analysis equipment and staining process of the Clinical Analysis Laboratory at Julio C. Perrando Hospital, located in Resistencia, Chaco Province.