Survival of enteric viruses and indicator bacteria in groundwater

Keswick, Bruce H.; Gerba, Charles P.; Secor, S. L.; Cech, Irina

doi:10.1080/10934528209375085

Cited by 60 publications

(55 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…For the (larger) WSP effluent data set, the k D differences were small, but the bacteria were generally inactivated more rapidly were than the phages. Similar results have been reported for groundwater microcosms (21).…”

Section: Data Variabilitysupporting

confidence: 80%

Sunlight Inactivation of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Bacteriophages from Waste Stabilization Pond Effluent in Fresh and Saline Waters

Sinton

Hall

Lynch

et al. 2002

Appl Environ Microbiol

458

372

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Sunlight inactivation in fresh (river) water of fecal coliforms, enterococci, Escherichia coli, somatic coliphages, and F-RNA phages from waste stabilization pond (WSP) effluent was compared. Ten experiments were conducted outdoors in 300-liter chambers, held at 14°C (mean river water temperature). Sunlight inactivation (k S ) rates, as a function of cumulative global solar radiation (insolation), were all more than 10 times higher than the corresponding dark inactivation (k D ) rates in enclosed (control) chambers. The overall k S ranking (from greatest to least inactivation) was as follows: enterococci > fecal coliforms > E. coli > somatic coliphages > F-RNA phages. In winter, fecal coliform and enterococci inactivation rates were similar but, in summer, enterococci were inactivated far more rapidly. In four experiments that included freshwater-raw sewage mixtures, enterococci survived longer than fecal coliforms (a pattern opposite to that observed with the WSP effluent), but there was little difference in phage inactivation between effluents. In two experiments which included simulated estuarine water and seawater, sunlight inactivation of all of the indicators increased with increasing salinity. Inactivation rates in freshwater, as seen under different optical filters, decreased with the increase in the spectral cutoff (50% light transmission) wavelength. The enterococci and F-RNA phages were inactivated by a wide range of wavelengths, suggesting photooxidative damage. Inactivation of fecal coliforms and somatic coliphages was mainly by shorter (UV-B) wavelengths, a result consistent with photobiological damage. Fecal coliform repair mechanisms appear to be activated in WSPs, and the surviving cells exhibit greater sunlight resistance in natural waters than those from raw sewage. In contrast, enterococci appear to suffer photooxidative damage in WSPs, rendering them susceptible to further photooxidative damage after discharge. This suggests that they are unsuitable as indicators of WSP effluent discharges to natural waters. Although somatic coliphages are more sunlight resistant than the other indicators in seawater, F-RNA phages are the most resistant in freshwater, where they may thus better represent enteric virus survival.

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Section: Data Variabilitysupporting

confidence: 80%

Sunlight Inactivation of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Bacteriophages from Waste Stabilization Pond Effluent in Fresh and Saline Waters

Sinton

Hall

Lynch

et al. 2002

Appl Environ Microbiol

458

372

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…McFeters et al (1974), using survival chambers immersed in a tank through which ground water was continually pumped, found that S. faecium, S. faecalis, and S. durans all exhibited superior survival characteristics to coliforms, but that coliform survival exceeded that of S. bovis and S. equinus. Using a similar experimental set-up, Keswick et al (1982) also found that an unidenti-fied streptococcus from sewage exhibited superior survival to E. coli and to coliphage f2. Bitton et al (1983), using ground water stored in glass flasks, found that S. faecalis survived better than Salmon-ella typhimurium and E. coli and had survival characteristics similar to those of coliphage f 2.…”

Section: Survival Of Faecal Streptococcimentioning

confidence: 90%

Faecal streptococci as faecal pollution indicators: A review. Part II: Sanitary significance, survival, and use

Sinton

Donnison²,

Hastie

1993

New Zealand Journal of Marine and Freshwater Research

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Some New Zealand regional councils are examining the use of faecal streptococci (or the subset, enterococci) to assist in identifying pollution sources, or as better indicators of disease risk in bathing waters than faecal coliforms. However, in spite of worldwide investigation, faecal streptococci have largely failed to fulfil their potential as pollution source (human versus animal) indicators in receiving waters. Many qualifications accompany the use of faecal coliform : faecal streptococci (FC : FS) ratios, and the species identification approach (using biochemical and DNA-based methods) has produced inconclusive results. Nevertheless, the FC : FS shift method (in which the ratio changes under sample storage) may M92025 Received 6 May 1992 ; accepted 18 January 1993 warrant further investigation. Although reported results vary widely, most studies indicate that faecal streptococci outlive faecal coliforms in receiving waters and are more resistant to sunlight-induced inactivation. USEPA epidemiological studies showed that enterococcus concentrations were better correlated than faecal conform concentrations with disease risk associated with bathing in sewage-polluted waters. These results, which implied that the enterococci better represented viral hazard, led the USEPA to recommend the use of enterococci (or Escherichia coli in freshwaters) as bathing water quality indicators. These recommendations have largely been followed in provisional New Zealand Department of Health guidelines. However, adoption of the USEPA criteria should be approached cautiously, because of doubts about their epidemiological applicability in New Zealand, and a lack of information about streptococcal concentrations and species profiles in local effluents and receiving waters.

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“…Faecal streptococci (FS) have also been used as indicators of faecal contamination (DHSS, 1983) and several studies have suggested that FS survival in water is nearer than that of TtC organisms to the survival of pathogenic microorganisms, in particular enteric viruses (Keswick et al, 1982;Bitton et al, 1983;Fattal et al, 1983).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The survival patterns of selected faecal bacteria in tropical fresh waters

Wright¹

1989

Epidemiol. Infect.

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SUMMARYThe survival of various faecal bacteria used as indicators of the faecal contamination of water supplies has been investigated in a tropical environment (Sierra Leone). Isolates representing the thermotolerant coliform (TtC) and faecal streptococcus (FS) groups,Clostridium perfringensandSalmonellaspp. were studied over a 48 h period of immersion in water from three different sources. Survival patterns varied according to source type, but some general observations were made: a portion of the TtC group was apparently capable of substantial regrowth; FS organisms died off at a faster rate than TtC organisms initially, but survived longer; vegetative cells ofC. perfringensdied off rapidly; andSalmonellaspp. could survive for as long as the other faecal organisms tested. The implications of results for the analysis of tropical waters for faecal contamination are discussed.

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Survival of enteric viruses and indicator bacteria in groundwater

Cited by 60 publications

References 11 publications

Sunlight Inactivation of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Bacteriophages from Waste Stabilization Pond Effluent in Fresh and Saline Waters

Sunlight Inactivation of Fecal Indicator Bacteria and Bacteriophages from Waste Stabilization Pond Effluent in Fresh and Saline Waters

Faecal streptococci as faecal pollution indicators: A review. Part II: Sanitary significance, survival, and use

The survival patterns of selected faecal bacteria in tropical fresh waters

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