Poorly operating wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) result in faecal pollution of receiving waters, posing a health risk to humans and animals. The aim of this study was to determine the antimicrobial resistance patterns and presence of virulent genes in Enterococcus spp. isolated from three WWTPs' final effluent and receiving waters in the North West Province, South Africa. Sixty-three Enterococcus spp. were identified and their antimicrobial susceptibility, as well as the presence of five virulence genes, determined. The antibiotic inhibition zone diameter data were subject to cluster analysis. Sixty-eight percent of the screened Enterococcus spp. were resistant to three or more antibiotics and harboured plasmids. Five virulence genes were detected and six multi-virulence profiles observed. Cluster analysis indicated groupings of isolates from all three effluent points downstream together, and between plants 1 and 2 together. The findings of this study have demonstrated that Enterococcus spp. harbouring virulence factors and plasmids that mediate multiple antibiotic resistance are present in effluent and receiving water systems that support various social needs. This is a cause for concern and it is recommended that Enterococcus be used as an additional faecal indicator when microbiological quality of water is assessed.

废水处理厂（WWTP）操作不善会导致接收水的粪便污染，对人类和动物构成健康风险。这项研究的目的是确定肠球菌的抗药性模式和强毒基因的存在。与三个污水处理厂的最终废水隔离，并在南非西北省接收水域。六十三肠球菌。进行鉴定，确定其抗菌药敏性以及五个毒力基因的存在。对抗生素抑制区直径数据进行聚类分析。筛查肠球菌的68％spp。对三种或更多种抗生素具有抗性并带有质粒。检测到五个毒力基因，观察到六个多毒力谱。聚类分析表明，来自下游所有三个出水点的分离株组合在一起，并且位于植物1和植物2之间。这项研究的结果表明肠球菌属。含有毒力因子和介导多种抗生素抗性的质粒存在于支持各种社会需求的污水和接收水系统中。这是一个令人担忧的原因，在评估水的微生物质量时，建议将肠球菌用作附加的粪便指标。