| Summary: | In the city of Maputo, Mozambique, food and water are often sold on the streets. Street water is packaged, distributed, and sold not paying attention to good hygienic practices, and its consumption is often associated with the occurrence of diarrheal diseases. Coincidentally, the increase of diarrheal diseases promotes the inappropriate use of antibiotics that might cause the emergence of antibiotic-resistant bacterial strains. In this context, the present study aimed to assess the microbiological quality of water sold on the streets of Maputo, as well as the antibiotic resistance profile of selected Enterobacteriaceae isolates. The 118 water samples analyzed were from street home-bottled water (<i>n</i> = 81), municipal water distribution systems (tap water) (<i>n</i> = 25), and selected supply wells in several neighborhoods (<i>n</i> = 12). The samples were analyzed for total mesophilic microorganisms, fecal enterococci, fecal coliforms, <i>Escherichia coli</i>, and <i>Vibrio</i> spp. The results showed a high level of fecal contamination in all types of water samples. In home-bottled water, fecal coliforms were found in 88% of the samples, and <i>E. coli</i> in 66% of the samples. In tap water, fecal coliforms were found in 64%, and <i>E. coli</i> in 28% of the samples. In water from supply wells, fecal coliforms and <i>E. coli</i> were found in 83% of the samples. From 33 presumptive <i>Vibrio</i> spp. colonies, only three were identified as <i>V. fluvialis</i>. The remaining isolates belonged to <i>Aeromonas</i> spp. (<i>n</i> = 14) and <i>Klebsiella</i> spp. (<i>n</i> = 16). Of 44 selected Enterobacteriaceae isolates from water samples (28 isolates of <i>E. coli</i> and 16 isolates of <i>Klebsiella</i> spp.), 45.5% were not susceptible to the beta-lactams ampicillin and imipenem, 43.2% to amoxicillin, and 31.8% to amoxicillin/clavulanic acid. Regarding non-beta-lactam antibiotics, there was a high percentage of isolates with tolerance to tetracycline (52.3%) and azithromycin (31.8%). In conclusion, water in Maputo represents a risk for human health due to its high fecal contamination. This situation is made more serious by the fact that a relatively high percentage of isolates with multidrug resistance (40%) were found among Enterobacteriaceae. The dissemination of these results can raise awareness of the urgent need to reduce water contamination in Maputo and other cities in Mozambique.
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