Microbial Diversity in Hospital Wastewater: A Comparative Review Based on 16S rRNA Gene Sequencing

Hospital wastewater is a significant reservoir of diverse microbial communities originating from patients, healthcare workers, medical procedures, and the surrounding environment. Understanding these microbial populations is essential for evaluating environmental contamination, public health risks, and the spread of clinically relevant microorganisms. This review systematically synthesizes findings from published studies that employed 16S rRNA gene sequencing to characterize the microbial diversity of hospital wastewater across different geographic regions. The review compares dominant bacterial taxa, sequencing methodologies, and factors influencing microbial community composition, while highlighting similarities and regional variations among studies. By consolidating current knowledge, this work identifies existing research gaps and provides recommendations for future investigations using high-throughput sequencing approaches to improve our understanding of hospital wastewater microbiomes.