Evaluation of the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of the Loukkos wetlands complex (Morocco)

The estuary of the Loukkos River is a complex ecosystem where various factors affect the quality of water. Our study is assessing the degree of water pollution in the complex of the lower Loukkos wetland’s surface water, which is situated at the river mouth of the Loukkos river in the eastern periphery of Larache city. To realize this objective, we collected water samplings from five area sites during summer period from May to August 2016 to analyse eight parameters physicochemical including dissolved oxygen (DO), temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, salinity, suspended matter and nitrates. This study was accompanied by a bacteriological analysis relating to the enumeration of total coliforms and faecal coliforms, intestinal enterococci and reducing anaerobic sulphites. The analysis’s results shed lights on factors of contamination and collaborate to the physicochemical evaluation and bacteriologic quality of surface water. The quality indicators spatialization reveals interactions between the various phenomena acting on the functions of this Ramsar site.

Impact of Freeze–Thaw Cycles on Die-Off of E. coli and Intestinal Enterococci in Deer and Dairy Faeces: Implications for Landscape Contamination of Watercourses

Characterising faecal indicator organism (FIO) survival in the environment is important for informing land management and minimising public health risk to downstream water users. However, key gaps in knowledge include understanding how wildlife contribute to catchment-wide FIO sources and how FIO survival is affected by low environmental temperatures. The aim of this study was to quantify E. coli and intestinal enterococci die-off in dairy cow versus red deer faecal sources exposed to repeated freeze–thaw cycles under controlled laboratory conditions. Survival of FIOs in water exposed to freeze–thaw was also investigated to help interpret survival responses. Both E. coli and intestinal enterococci were capable of surviving sub-freezing conditions with the faeces from both animals able to sustain relatively high FIO concentrations, as indicated by modelling, and observations revealing persistence in excess of 11 days and in some cases confirmed beyond 22 days. Die-off responses of deer-derived FIOs in both faeces and water exposed to low temperatures provide much needed information to enable better accounting of the varied catchment sources of faecal pollution and results from this study help constrain the parameterisation of die-off coefficients to better inform more integrated modelling and decision-making for microbial water quality management.

Use Essential Oil And Power Of Antihelium Tsihanimposa To Eliminate The White Spot Syndrome Virus (WSSV) In Organic Shrimp Culture In Madagascar

The organic culture needs special treatment like treatment of the culture water to rid the different types of bacteria. Nosy Lonjo seawater contains bacteria like Coliforms 770 Npp/100ml, Escherchia coli 700 Npp/100ml, Intestinal Enterococci 2433 Npp/100ml and some viruses with Temperature 26 °C, pH 9, Conductivity 550µS/cm, Turbidity 0.9 NTU. Culture water (Seawater from Nosy Lonjo) also contains dissolved oxygen 6mg/l, Salinity 50mg/l, TCA °f, NO3- 1.8mg/l, Hardness 5780 mg/l, Total iron 0mg /l, Ammonium 0mg/l, Sodium 7006 mg/l, Potassium 350 mg/l, Calcium 488 mb/l, Magnesium 1400mg/l, Aluminum 0mg/l, Copper 0.7 mg/l, Lead 0 mg/l and Chloride 348 mg/l. After treatment with zanthoxylum Tsihanimposa oil and powder, the bacteria have almost disappeared as coliform bacteria with a rate of 10 Npp/100ml much lower compared to the EU 250 standard, Escherchia coli 0 Npp/100ml compared to EU 500, Intestinal enterococci 100 Npp/100ml compared to EU 200. Concerning viruses like Vibrio alginolyticus 1Npp/100ml, Vibrio anguilarum 0 Npp/100ml, Vibrio harveyi 0 Npp/100ml, Vibrio parahaemolyticus 1 Npp/100ml, Vibrio vulnificus 0 Npp/100ml and Vbrio salmonica 0 Npp/100ml, the presence in organic culture is almost null. The oil and powder of zanthoxylum Tsihanimposa also affects Pseudomonas aeruginosa 0 Npp/100ml, Flavoctrrium 2 Npp/100ml and Moraxella 1 Npp/100ml. The treatment of WSSV with zanthoxylum Tsihanimposa is a special case in our study, it lasts 90 days. The test is done every 10 days, after 20 days of culture the shrimp mortality is zero until 90 days of culture and the rate WSSV or White Spot Syndrome Virus is 0Npp/100ml.

MICROBIOLOGICAL SAFETY OF WATER IN PRIMARY PRODUCTION OF FOOD

Health-safe water is the basis of a healthy life and is one of the priorities in primary health care. Water safety involves microbiological, physicochemical and radiologically clean water, a sufficient amount of water and continuous delivery. Due to the great epidemiological importance of water, whose impact is immediate and through which various infectious diseases can be transmitted harmful and dangerous chemicals can be introduced, it is necessary, in order to protect human health, to control the safety of drinking water. The aim of this study was to determine the microbiological safety of water used for watering animals, as well as in the food industry. Based on data collected from year 2015 to 2017, 26.20% water samples did not meet requirements defined by Regulation on hygienic quality of drinking water. The greatest number of samples was unsatisfactory due to an increased number of microorganisms at the temperatures of 22°C (63.40%) and 37°C (54.90%), and when it comes to pathogenic microorganisms due to the presence of intestinal enterococci (58.80%). The lowest risk of the presence of coliforms and E. coli is in the water from the water supplying network, while it's much higher presence is in wells and in the water from the wellspring. The presence of intestinal enterococci is significant in all three types of drinking water, while the presence of sulphite-reducing clostridia was observed only in the wellspring water.

Fate and transport modelling of faecal indicator bacteria in Dublin Bay

<p>Water-based microbial pathogens are often responsible for the spread of waterborne diseases in polluted coastal waters. However, difficulties in directly measuring pathogens have resulted in Faecal Indicator Bacteria (FIB) being commonly used as risk indicators in coastal and bathing water management. FIB groups, particularly those of E coli and enterococci, are easily quantified in laboratory tests and are used worldwide to assess health risks in bathing and shellfish harvesting waters.</p><p>Dublin Bay off the east coast of Ireland extends to over 300 km<sup>2</sup> and is home to species and habitats of high conservation importance. Its significant environmental, economic, cultural, recreational and tourism importance to the 300,000 people living within the Bay area and to the wider Dublin population is reflected in its 2015 Biosphere designation from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). Recent years however, have seen an increase in pressures on the water quality in Dublin Bay with diffuse and point source pollution discharges from both the urban and rural catchments connected to the bay being a cause of increasing concern for the responsible authorities charged with managing the coastal waters in the context of national and European legislations, particularly the EU Bathing Water Directive (2006/7/EC).</p><p>Here we present the development of a 3-Dimensional numerical model for simulating the transport and fate of FIB (namely E.coli and Intestinal Enterococci) in the receiving waters of Dublin Bay. A dynamic decay rate, which included the effects of salinity, temperature and light intensity was adopted in the model, and was shown to offer advantages over the use of constant decay rate models for simulating the bacterial die-off. More importantly however, the analyses of sediment samples taken from the intertidal zone in the bay revealed relatively high faecal bacteria concentrations. The developed model in this study allows for the effects of sediment on bacteria transport processes in surface waters and in particular, the release of bacteria from sediments into the water column. The model was validated with measurements of current speed and direction at multiple points in Dublin Bay, and with faecal indicator bacteria concentrations (E.coli and Intestinal Enterococci) determined for neap and Spring tides in both wet and dry conditions. Results from model simulations agreed well with observed data. The model represents a high-level strategic tool that will be used to understand how water quality pressures in Dublin Bay may be altered under different climate change scenarios. The work presented forms part of the EU INTERREG funded Acclimatize project (www.acclimatize.eu/) that is investigating the longer-term water quality pressures in Dublin Bay that may arise in the context of a changing climate.</p>

Phytochemical and Antibacterial Properties of Andrographis paniculata (Burn.F.) on Enteric Bacteria Isolated from a Surface Water in Owena, Nigeria

This study was aimed at determining the antibacterial activities of Andrographis paniculata on methicillin and vancomycin resistant enteric bacteria isolated from River Owena, Owena, Nigeria. Water samples were collected weekly from River Owena over a period of six weeks (n = 6). The bacteriological evaluation of the water samples was carried out using standard microbiological method. A. paniculata leaf and stem extracts were prepared using the polar (i.e., methanol) and nonpolar (i.e., n-hexane) solvents. The phytochemical constituents and antibacterial activity of all the extracts of A. paniculata leaf and stem were investigated using standard methods. Results revealed that methanol extracts from A. paniculata contained the maximum amount of phytochemicals when compared to that of the n- hexane extracts. Salmonella and Shigella were both resistant to vancomycin, while they were only susceptible to methicillin once throughout the sampling week. The methanol extracts from A. paniculata showed higher antibacterial activity against the targeted bacterial isolates of enteric origin which include E. coli, faecal coliforms, Shigella, Salmonella and intestinal enterococci. The methanol leaf extract of A. paniculata showed the maximum antibacterial activity against E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella, intestinal enterococci and faecal coliform with zones of inhibition 29.0 mm, 26.00 mm, 21.3 mm, 21 mm and 19 mm respectively. The methanollic stem extract of A. paniculata showed a maximum antibacterial activity against Salmonella with zone of inhibition of 25 mm while n-hexane stem extract exhibited a maximum zone inhibition of 17.6 mm against Salmonella. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) value for all the A. paniculata extracts was at a concentration of 12.5 – 50 ml. The pH of the water ranged from 6.50 to 6.90, temperature ranged from 26 to 31°C. The findings from this study demonstrated that River Owena is highly contaminated with faecal materials and that leaf and stem extracts of A. paniculata may be used as antibacterial agents against methicillin and vancomycin resistant bacteria of enteric origin.

Faecal Indicator Bacteria and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Marine Coastal Waters: Is there a Relationship?

To estimate the quality of coastal waters, European Union Directive 2006/7/EC provides guidelines to assess levels of faecal bacteria, including Escherichia coli and intestinal enterococci. These microbiological criteria are based on studies that determine the risk of bathers having diseases caused by enteric bacteria, not necessarily measuring the potential danger associated with the presence of nonenteric pathogens. The association between the presence of faecal contaminant indicators and nonenteric pathogenic microorganisms has not been well defined yet. The purpose of this study is to establish a relationship between Pseudomonas aeruginosa and microbiological indicators of faecal contamination. Presence of microbiological contamination in the coastal waters near the sewage treatment plant (STP) of Peniche (Portugal) was confirmed (P. aeruginosa 135.8 Colony Forming Unit/100 mL, Escherichia coli 1100.1 Most Probable Number/100 mL, intestinal enterococci 2685.9 MPN/100 mL) with much lower levels in the areas located south of the STP, along the main water coastal current (beach 1: 0.7 CFU/100 mL, 16.5 MPN/100 mL, 100.5 MPN/100 mL; beach 2: 0.3 CFU/100 mL, 74.0 MPN/100 mL, 145.9 MPN/100 mL, respectively). Analysis of Pearson’s correlation revealed a strong positive correlation between E. coli and P. aeruginosa, suggesting E. coli as an indicator of P. aeruginosa presence.

The Quality of Underwater Supplies in Western Romania

Over the last three decades, many scientist, national and international agencies were concerned about pollution of the Romanian environment, especially water and its impact on human health. This research includes studies and interpretations resulting from chemical and bacteriological analyzes of water samples collected from wells or underground springs from central north-western part of Romania. The water parameters were determined using standard analytical methods: pH, turbidity, oxidability, ammonium, nitrates, nitrites, chlorides, total hardness, conductivity, mesophilic heterotrophic microorganisms, coliforms, E. coli, intestinal enterococci. Regarding non-compliant samples, the main problem is the bacterial load of water, confirming domestic pollution sources of water. More than 50% of the analyzed samples, which had concentrations of nitrate over 10 mg/L were also found bacteriological inappropria

Categorical performance characteristics of method ISO 7899-2 and indicator value of intestinal enterococci for bathing water quality monitoring

Intestinal enterococci indicate the fecal contamination of bathing waters. This study defines the performance characteristics of the reference method ISO 7899-2:2000 with water samples collected from inland and coastal bathing areas in Finland. From a total of 341 bacterial isolates grown on Slanetz and Bartley medium, 63.6% were confirmed as intestinal enterococci on bile aesculin agar. The partial 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that Enterococcus faecium and Enterococcus faecalis clades accounted for 93.1% of the confirmed isolates. The range of the false positive and false negative rate of the ISO 7899-2 was 0.0–18.5% and 5.6–57.1%, respectively, being affected by the presumptive colony count on the membrane. The analysis of multiple sample volumes is proposed to reach 10–100 colonies per membrane when 47 mm diameter membranes are used to prevent overestimation of low counts and underestimation of the high counts.

Poikilothermic Animals as a Previously Unrecognized Source of Fecal Indicator Bacteria in a Backwater Ecosystem of a Large River

ABSTRACTQuantitative information regarding the presence ofEscherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, andClostridium perfringensin poikilotherms is notably scarce. Therefore, this study was designed to allow a systematic comparison of the occurrence of these standard fecal indicator bacteria (SFIB) in the excreta of wild homeothermic (ruminants, boars, carnivores, and birds) and poikilothermic (earthworms, gastropods, frogs, and fish) animals inhabiting an alluvial backwater area in eastern Austria. With the exception of earthworms, the average concentrations ofE. coliand enterococci in the excreta of poikilotherms were equal to or only slightly lower than those observed in homeothermic excreta and were 1 to 4 orders of magnitude higher than the levels observed in the ambient soils and sediments. Enterococci reached extraordinarily high concentrations in gastropods. Additional estimates of the daily excreted SFIB (E. coliand enterococcus) loads (DESL) further supported the importance of poikilotherms as potential pollution sources. The newly established DESL metric also allowed comparison to the standing stock of SFIB in the sediment and soil of the investigated area. In agreement with its biological characteristics, the highest concentrations ofC. perfringenswere observed in carnivores. In conclusion, the long-standing hypothesis that only humans and homeothermic animals are primary sources of SFIB is challenged by the results of this study. It may be necessary to extend the fecal indicator concept by additionally considering poikilotherms as potential important primary habitats of SFIB. Further studies in other geographical areas are needed to evaluate the general significance of our results. We hypothesize that the importance of poikilotherms as sources of SFIB is strongly correlated with the ambient temperature and would therefore be of increased significance in subtropical and tropical habitats and water resources.IMPORTANCEThe current fecal indicator concept is based on the assumption that the standard fecal indicator bacteria (SFIB)Escherichia coli, intestinal enterococci, andClostridium perfringensmultiply significantly only in the guts of humans and other homeothermic animals and can therefore indicate fecal pollution and the potential presence of pathogens from those groups. The findings of the present study showed that SFIB can also occur in high concentrations in poikilothermic animals (i.e., animals with body temperatures that vary with the ambient environmental temperature, such as fish, frogs, and snails) in an alluvial backwater area in a temperate region, indicating that a reconsideration of this long-standing indicator paradigm is needed. This study suggests that poikilotherms must be considered to be potential primary sources of SFIB in future studies.