Prevalence and multidrug resistance patterns of bacterial pathogens in wastewater and drinking water systems from hospital and non-hospital environments in Ethiopia: a systematic review and meta-analysis

A systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 studies in Ethiopia aimed to assess the prevalence of bacterial pathogens and their multidrug resistance patterns in wastewater and drinking water systems. The study found that Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most frequently identified bacterium, with an overall prevalence of 41.25%. The pooled prevalence of bacterial pathogens in hospital and non-hospital wastewater systems in Ethiopia was 70.02%, exhibiting substantial heterogeneity. The overall prevalence of multidrug-resistant bacterial strains in wastewater was 65.26%, with high heterogeneity across different bacterial species and study settings. The findings highlight the urgent need for enhanced wastewater management and monitoring to tackle these public health issues. Future research should focus on standardizing methodologies and investigating sources of variability to effectively manage and mitigate risks associated with wastewater systems.