Distinguishing human from animal faecal contamination in water: A review

Abstract

Management of faecal contamination of water would be improved if sources could be accurately identified through water analysis. Human faeces are generally perceived as constituting a greater human health risk than animal faeces, but reliable epidemiological evidence is lacking. United States waterborne disease data suggest that humanspecific enteric viruses account for over half the documented outbreaks. However, in New Zealand, where there is a high grazing animal:human ratio (increasing the relative importance of watertransmissible zoonoses), it seems prudent to assume that human and animal faecal pollution both constitute a risk to human health. Irrespective of the relative risks, the ability to identify sources would assist in overall management of microbial water quality. Faecal streptococci do not appear to provide reliable faecal source identification. Human and animal sources, respectively, maybe distinguishable by two tests on Bifidobacterium spp.-growth at 45°C in trypticase phytone yeast broth and sorbitol fermentation. Different species of Bacteroides tend to be present in humans and animals, but poor survival in water is a problem. Phages of the M97014

The effect of a sewage treatment plant effluent on the faecal coliforms and enterococci populations of the reception river waters

“…Faecal coliforms and enterococci have been used widely as faecal pollution indicators (Sinton et al 1998). Both microbial groups can be determined by their enumeration, the proportion of faecal coliforms/enterococci or their inactivation by different agents.…”

Multiplex PCR with 16S rRNA Gene-Targeted Primers of Bifidobacterium spp. To Identify Sources of Fecal Pollution

“…However, it is well established that most of these organisms are not restricted to humans but exist also in the intestines of many other warm-blooded animals. New microbial indicators have therefore been proposed that may provide information about both the presence and the origin of fecal pollution (1,3,6,8,11,13,16,18,20,22,25,28,29). Bifidobacteria are one of the most common bacterial types found in the intestines of humans and other animals.…”

“…Bifidobacteria are one of the most common bacterial types found in the intestines of humans and other animals. They have been examined as potential candidates for use as indicators of human fecal pollution (1,21,25,29). The distribution of Bifidobacterium species is highly variable: some are associated exclusively with humans and others are exclusive to other animals (4,27).…”

Source tracking faecal contamination in an urbanised and a rural waterway in the Nelson-Tasman region, New Zealand

“…In an effort to distinguish contamination sources, a number of microbial source tracking (MST) technologies have been developed (reviewed in Sinton et al 1998;Scott et al 2002;Santo Domingo et al 2007;Stoeckel & Harwood 2007;Tourlousse et al 2008). Molecular approaches for MST can be divided into two broad categories*librarydependent and library-independent methods.…”