Criteria for Selection of Surrogates Used To Study the Fate and Control of Pathogens in the Environment

Sinclair, Ryan; Rose, Joan B.; Hashsham, Syed A.; Gerba, Charles P.; Haas, Charles N.

doi:10.1128/aem.06582-11

Cited by 134 publications

(111 citation statements)

References 76 publications

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“…Surrogates have most commonly been used in microbiology as indicators within an environmental context, such as water or food, to represent the potential presence of pathogens (12). The use of surrogates should be considered when no methods are available to study the effects of physiochemical conditions or inactivation methods on a pathogen.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Comparison of Cultivable Norovirus Surrogates in Response to Different Inactivation and Disinfection Treatments

Cromeans

Park

Costantini

et al. 2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

171

174

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g Human norovirus is the leading cause of epidemic and sporadic acute gastroenteritis. Since no cell culture method for human norovirus exists, cultivable surrogate viruses (CSV), including feline calicivirus (FCV), murine norovirus (MNV), porcine enteric calicivirus (PEC), and Tulane virus (TuV), have been used to study responses to inactivation and disinfection methods. We compared the levels of reduction in infectivities of CSV and Aichi virus (AiV) after exposure to extreme pHs, 56°C heating, alcohols, chlorine on surfaces, and high hydrostatic pressure (HHP), using the same matrix and identical test parameters for all viruses, as well as the reduction of human norovirus RNA levels under these conditions. At pH 2, FCV was inactivated by 6 log 10 units, whereas MNV, TuV, and AiV were resistant. All CSV were completely inactivated at 56°C within 20 min. MNV was inactivated 5 log 10 units by alcohols, in contrast to 2 and 3 log 10 units for FCV and PEC, respectively. TuV and AiV were relatively insensitive to alcohols. FCV was reduced 5 log 10 units by 1,000 ppm chlorine, in contrast to 1 log 10 unit for the other CSV. All CSV except FCV, when dried on stainless steel surfaces, were insensitive to 200 ppm chlorine. HHP completely inactivated FCV, MNV, and PEC at >300 MPa, and TuV at 600 MPa, while AiV was completely resistant to HHP up to 800 MPa. By reverse transcription-quantitative PCR (RT-qPCR), genogroup I (GI) noroviruses were more sensitive than GII noroviruses to alcohols, chlorine, and HHP. Although inactivation profiles were variable for each treatment, TuV and MNV were the most resistant CSV overall and therefore are the best candidates for studying the public health outcomes of norovirus infections.

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mentioning

confidence: 99%

Comprehensive Comparison of Cultivable Norovirus Surrogates in Response to Different Inactivation and Disinfection Treatments

Cromeans

Park

Costantini

et al. 2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

171

174

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“…Their abundance in human and animal feces, the ease with which they are cultured, and their correlation with human health outcomes in fresh and marine waters have led to their widespread use as tools for assessing recreational water quality worldwide (333,335,(345)(346)(347). The enterococci are most frequently used as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), or general indicators of fecal contamination, but they are also used as surrogates for pathogens and/or health effects in risk assessment and other modeling applications (61,214,285,303,329,346). Research spanning more than 3 decades, however, has shown that these bacteria are widely distributed in a variety of environmental habitats, even when there is little or no input from human and/or animal fecal sources.…”

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confidence: 99%

Enterococci in the Environment

Byappanahalli

Nevers

Korajkic

et al. 2012

Microbiol Mol Biol Rev

554

383

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SUMMARYEnterococci are common, commensal members of gut communities in mammals and birds, yet they are also opportunistic pathogens that cause millions of human and animal infections annually. Because they are shed in human and animal feces, are readily culturable, and predict human health risks from exposure to polluted recreational waters, they are used as surrogates for waterborne pathogens and as fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) in research and in water quality testing throughout the world. Evidence from several decades of research demonstrates, however, that enterococci may be present in high densities in the absence of obvious fecal sources and that environmental reservoirs of these FIB are important sources and sinks, with the potential to impact water quality. This review focuses on the distribution and microbial ecology of enterococci in environmental (secondary) habitats, including the effect of environmental stressors; an outline of their known and apparent sources, sinks, and fluxes; and an overview of the use of enterococci as FIB. Finally, the significance of emerging methodologies, such as microbial source tracking (MST) and empirical predictive models, as tools in water quality monitoring is addressed. The mounting evidence for widespread extraenteric sources and reservoirs of enterococci demonstrates the versatility of the genusEnterococcusand argues for the necessity of a better understanding of their ecology in natural environments, as well as their roles as opportunistic pathogens and indicators of human pathogens.

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“…Presently, there are few bacterial surrogate strains available to validate processes used to control food-borne pathogens in food processing (83,84). As for any bacterial strain, E. faecium NRRL B-2354 should be handled with appropriate care; however, it lacks the genomic and phenotypic characteristics that define strains of this species responsible for nosocomial infections.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Safety of the Surrogate Microorganism Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 for Use in Thermal Process Validation

Kopit

Kim

Siezen

et al. 2014

Appl Environ Microbiol

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dEnterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 is a surrogate microorganism used in place of pathogens for validation of thermal processing technologies and systems. We evaluated the safety of strain NRRL B-2354 based on its genomic and functional characteristics. The genome of E. faecium NRRL B-2354 was sequenced and found to comprise a 2,635,572-bp chromosome and a 214,319-bp megaplasmid. A total of 2,639 coding sequences were identified, including 45 genes unique to this strain. Hierarchical clustering of the NRRL B-2354 genome with 126 other E. faecium genomes as well as pbp5 locus comparisons and multilocus sequence typing (MLST) showed that the genotype of this strain is most similar to commensal, or community-associated, strains of this species. E. faecium NRRL B-2354 lacks antibiotic resistance genes, and both NRRL B-2354 and its clonal relative ATCC 8459 are sensitive to clinically relevant antibiotics. This organism also lacks, or contains nonfunctional copies of, enterococcal virulence genes including acm, cyl, the ebp operon, esp, gelE, hyl, IS16, and associated phenotypes. It does contain scm, sagA, efaA, and pilA, although either these genes were not expressed or their roles in enterococcal virulence are not well understood. Compared with the clinical strains TX0082 and 1,231,502, E. faecium NRRL B-2354 was more resistant to acidic conditions (pH 2.4) and high temperatures (60°C) and was able to grow in 8% ethanol. These findings support the continued use of E. faecium NRRL B-2354 in thermal process validation of food products.

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Criteria for Selection of Surrogates Used To Study the Fate and Control of Pathogens in the Environment

Cited by 134 publications

References 76 publications

Comprehensive Comparison of Cultivable Norovirus Surrogates in Response to Different Inactivation and Disinfection Treatments

Comprehensive Comparison of Cultivable Norovirus Surrogates in Response to Different Inactivation and Disinfection Treatments

Enterococci in the Environment

Safety of the Surrogate Microorganism Enterococcus faecium NRRL B-2354 for Use in Thermal Process Validation

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