Water-borne diseases are the leading cause of deaths in developing countries. Among the coliform Escherichia coli is used as the principle indicator for drinking water pollution monitoring and plays an important role in the sanitary analysis of water. Indiscriminate use of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistant E. coli in drinking water. In this study microbial quality of drinking water at the point of use has been evaluated in different taluks of Mysore district and it was found that the household stored water was more contaminated than the tap water. The E. coli isolated from 83% of the household stored water and 13% tap water samples showed resistance to different antibiotics. Nearly 54 % of E. coli strains were resistant to various antibiotics. 30% of E. coli strains isolated had intermediate, and 16% were susceptible to antibiotics. The high frequency of antibiotic resistance (100%) was observed against Nystatin, Cephalothin, Penicillin, Vancomycin, and Aztreonam whereas were sensitive to Chloramphenicol (100%) and intermediate to Nitrofurantoin (90%), Trimethoprim (82%), and Amikacin (63%). The study indicates the poor sanitary conditions of the sampling sites and unhygienic practices of people leading to the prevalence of the Antibiotic Resistant E. coli (ABR E.coli) drinking water.
