ISOLATION AND IDENTIFICATION

Hospital wastewater is a significant reservoir of pathogenic bacteria and antibiotic-resistant strains, posing serious public health and environmental risks. This study investigates the bacteriological analysis of wastewater samples collected from different wards at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH), Benin City, Edo State, Nigeria. A total of four wastewater amples were obtained from different drainage outlets using sterile 500 mL glass bottles and transported under cold conditions to the Microbiology Laboratory of the University of Benin for analysis. The Total Heterotrophic Bacterial Count (THBC) varied across the sampled wards, with the highest bacterial load recorded in the laundry department (8.00 ± 0.05 × 10⁴ log₁₀ cfu/mL) and the lowest in the eye clinic (3.12 ± 0.23 × 10⁴ log₁₀ cfu/mL). Morphological, biochemical, and cultural analyses identified multiple bacterial species, including Salmonella sp., Bacillus sp., Escherichia coli, Enterobacter sp., Pseudomonas sp., Streptococcus sp., Staphylococcus sp., and Klebsiella sp. Among these, Staphylococcus sp. and Pseudomonas sp. were the most widely distributed, occurring in all sampled wards, while the eye clinic exhibited the lowest bacterial diversity. Antibiotic susceptibility testing revealed high resistance patterns among bacterial isolates, with Pseudomonas sp. displaying the highest resistance to multiple antibiotics such as Levofloxacin, Cefotaxime, Amoxicillin, and Azithromycin. Among Gram￾ix positive bacteria, Staphylococcus sp. exhibited the highest resistance, particularly to Rocephin and Erythromycin. The multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) index ranged from 0.20 (Klebsiella sp. and Bacillus sp.) to 0.70 (Pseudomonas sp.), indicating substantial resistance to antibiotics. The findings highlight the potential health risks associated with hospital wastewater discharge and underscore the need for improved wastewater treatment practices to mitigate the spread of antibiotic-resistant bacteria. This study provides valuable data for hospital infection control and public health policies in Nigeria.