Effect of UV light disinfection on antibiotic-resistant coliforms in wastewater effluents.        EPA Research doctument It didn't work on sludge.

Effect of UV light disinfection on antibiotic-resistant coliforms in wastewater effluents. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1982 February; 43(2): 371–377. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/pagerender.fcgi?artid=241834&pageindex=1 M C Meckes This article has been cited by other articles in PMC. Abstract Total coliforms and total coliforms resistant to streptomycin, tetracycline, or chloramphenicol were isolated from filtered activated sludge effluents before and after UV light irradiation. Although the UV irradiation effectively disinfected the wastewater effluent, the percentage of the total surviving coliform population resistant to tetracycline or chloramphenicol was significantly higher than the percentage of the total coliform population resistant to those antibiotics before UV irradiation. This finding was attributed to the mechanism of R-factor-mediated resistance to tetracycline. No significant difference was noted for the percentage of the surviving total coliform population resistant to streptomycin before or after UV irradiation. Multiple drug resistance patterns of 300 total coliform isolates revealed that 82% were resistant to two or more antibiotics. Furthermore, 46% of these isolates were capable of transferring antibiotic resistance to a sensitive strain of Escherichia coli. Notice the dates on THE CITED STUDIES Bauer AW, Kirby WM, Sherris JC, Turck M. Antibiotic susceptibility testing by a standardized single disk method. Am J Clin Pathol. 1966 Apr;45(4):493–496. [PubMed] Brungs WA. Effects of residual chlorine on aquatic life. J Water Pollut Control Fed. 1973 Oct;45(10):2180–2193. [PubMed] Chatterjee, Arun K.; Starr, Mortimer P. Transfer Among Erwinia spp. and Other Enterobacteria of Antibiotic Resistance Carried on R Factors. J Bacteriol. 1972 Oct;112(1):576–584. [Free Full text in PMC] Chopra I, Howe TG. Bacterial resistance to the tetracyclines. Microbiol Rev. 1978 Dec;42(4):707–724. [Free Full text in PMC] Davies J, Smith DI. Plasmid-determined resistance to antimicrobial agents. Annu Rev Microbiol. 1978;32:469–518. [PubMed] [Full Text] Drabble WT, Stocker BA. R (transmissible drug-resistance) factors in Salmonella typhimurium: pattern of transduction by phage P22 and ultraviolet-protection effect. J Gen Microbiol. 1968 Aug;53(1):109–123. [PubMed] Feary TW, Sturtevant AB Jr, Lankford J. Antibiotic-resistant coliforms in fresh and salt water. Arch Environ Health. 1972 Sep;25(3):215–220. [PubMed] Fontaine TD 3rd, Hoadley AW. Transferable drug resistance associated with coliforms isolated from hospital and domestic sewage. Health Lab Sci. 1976 Oct;13(4):238–245. [PubMed] Gangarosa EJ, Bennett JV, Wyatt C, Pierce PE, Olarte J, Hernandes PM, Vázquez V, Bessudo D. An epidemic- associated episome? J Infect Dis. 1972 Aug;126(2):215–218. [PubMed] Kelch WJ, Lee JS. Antibiotic resistance patterns of gram-negative bacteria isolated from environmental sources. Appl Environ Microbiol. 1978 Sep;36(3):450–456. [Free Full text in PMC] Linton KB, Richmond MH, Bevan R, Gillespie WA. Antibiotic resistance and R factors in coliform bacilli isolated from hospital and domestic sewage. J Med Microbiol. 1974 Feb;7(1):91–103. [PubMed] Lowbury EJ, Babb JR, Roe E. Clearance from a hospital of gram-negative bacilli that transfer carbenicillin-resistance to Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Lancet. 1972 Nov 4;2(7784):941–945. [PubMed] Marsh, Edward B., Jr.; Smith, David H. R Factors Improving Survival of Escherichia coli K-12 After Ultraviolet Irradiation. J Bacteriol. 1969 Oct;100(1):128–139. [Free Full text in PMC] Paniker CK, Vimala KN. Transferable chloramphenicol resistance in Salmonella typhi. Nature. 1972 Sep 8;239(5367): 109–110. [PubMed] Pollack M, Charache P, Nieman RE, Jett MP, Reimhardt JA, Hardy PH Jr. Factors influencing colonisation and antibiotic- resistance patterns of gram-negative bacteria in hospital patients. Lancet. 1972 Sep 30;2(7779):668–671. [PubMed] Smith HW. Incidence of river water of Escherichia coli containing R factors. Nature. 1970 Dec 26;228(5278):1286–1288. [PubMed] Smith HW. Incidence of R + Escherichia coli in coastal bathing waters of Britain. Nature. 1971 Nov 19;234(5325):155– 156. [PubMed] Sturtevant, Alton B., Jr.; Feary, Thomas W. Incidence of Infectious Drug Resistance Among Lactose-Fermenting Bacteria Isolated from Raw and Treated Sewage. Appl Microbiol. 1969 Nov;18(5):918–924. [Free Full text in PMC] Watanabe, Tsutomu. INFECTIVE HEREDITY OF MULTIPLE DRUG RESISTANCE IN BACTERIA. Bacteriol Rev. 1963 Mar; 27(1):87–115. [Free Full text in PMC] Watanabe T. Infectious drug resistance in bacteria. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 1971;56:43–98. [PubMed] Yokota, Takeshi.; Kasuga, Tokuhiko.; Kaneko, Michiharu.; Kuwahara, Shogo. Genetic Behavior of R Factors in Vibrio cholerae. J Bacteriol. 1972 Jan;109(1):440–442. [Free Full text in PMC]