The Fascinating Cross-Paths of Pathogenic Bacteria, Human and Animal Faecal Sources in Water-Stressed Communities of Vhembe District, South Africa

Abstract

Access to clean and safe drinking water still remains a major challenge in the developing world, causing public health risks in terms of waterborne infections, especially in rural areas of sub-Saharan Africa. This study aimed to track and detect enteric pathogens (Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhimurium str. LT2, Shigella flexneri, and Campylobacter jejuni subsp. jejuni) in rural water sources. It also sought to establish a correlation between these pathogens and the sources of faecal pollution. Multiplex qPCR and specific primers and probes were used for detection and tracking. The study successfully correlated the occurrence of target pathogens with sources of human and animal faecal contamination using host-specific genetic markers (BacHum and HF183 for humans, BacCow for cows, Pig-2-Bac for pigs, Cytb for chickens, and BacCan for dogs). The study revealed that enteric pathogens were found in 47.69% and 32.80% of samples during the wet and dry seasons, respectively. These pathogens were associated with human or animal faecal contamination. Correlations between pathogens and contamination sources were significant (p ≤ 0.05), with varying strengths during the wet and dry seasons. The findings emphasize the importance of identifying faecal contamination sources to protect rural communities from waterborne infections.

Identification of fecal contamination sources of groundwater in rural areas of Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…The sensitivity and specificity of the markers were calculated as described previously (Gawler et al, 2007). A study by Mudau et al (2023) provides a thorough description of the sensitivity, specificity, and accuracy of the Bacteriodales assays employed in this investigation. The standard curves were generated using 10-fold serial dilutions of g-Block gene fragments, containing the target sequences for each target marker.…”